The visitor industry influences many aspects of life on Maui, and especially South Maui, our favorite part of the island. A recent report from Hospitality Advisors LLC and STR Inc. revealed that Hawaii’s average daily room rates rose almost 4 percent in May, compared to the same month last year. Occupancy also nudged up 0.6 percentage points to 72.7 percent. Thanks to these combined factors, hotels earned $390 million that month, which is a new record for the month of May. That’s the statewide data, but what about Maui?

Maui has always had a higher average daily room rate than the other islands, and May was no exception, with a 3.1 percent increase to $261.20. Fortunately, there was also some occupancy growth, which came out to a 1.1 percent increase for 67.3 percent. The interesting part for prospective South Maui real estate buyers is that the luxury Wailea resort area performed better than the island-wide averages.

The Wailea resort area saw a 4.2 percent increase in occupancy to 71.9 percent, and a 2 percent increase in average daily room rates to $377.82. Compare that to the rest of Maui, and then to the rest of the state, and it proves that there are visitors willing to spend more for what they consider a preferable experience.

For those of you who want to live in the place where so many people drop so much money to visit, we’re here to assist you in every step of the real estate purchase process. Keep in mind that while real estate is expensive here, there are still good deals to be found if you have a realistic attitude. Tourism is up, the economy is up, home prices are up, and Hawaii’s home appreciation is excellent.

If you need our assistance, as always, you’ll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!

RealEstateMauiHawaii.com – By Mark Harbison