Hawaii hotel, airfare prices expected to increase as tourism recovers

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaii’s tourism market trend is simply following the supply and demand model.

Hotel and airfare prices are projected to increase as more people feel comfortable about making travel plans.

Hospitality analyst Vikram Singh said the cheap hotel stays and flights could soon be a thing of the past.

Singh said, “If you see a deal, snag it, because if things keep going well they’re not going to be around for a very long time.”

Singh says those $60 to $80 per night hotel room deals are becoming rare to find and prices are only expected to climb.

He said hotels and resorts are feeling more confident, especially with people beginning to book in advance again.

“People are planning their holidays further out into the summer,” Singh said. “That definitely gives a lot more stability to the hotels and as far as pricing is concerned, to start thinking more long term, into the summer into the fall and winter.” 

Airlines are part of a regulated industry and could not comment on ticket price projections.

Everlasting Services manager, Anna Pidong, said she is noticing the cost of airfare to the mainland is also going up.

Pidong said, “Just going to LA right now, before it was $300 and something, $370 or $400, that right now is $600” 

But that does not mean good deals are entirely gone. Searching independently for plane tickets just requires a little more time, some research and a flexible schedule.  

Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association President and CEO Mufi Hannemann said, these projections are not out of the norm — especially as hotels and lodging properties begin to recover.

“With the deep economic impacts that our industry felt through the pandemic, all hotels were actively looking for ways to defer their costs to later dates. Now that demand is growing and business is beginning to normalize, lodging properties will be looking to not only generate revenue and bring people back to work, but also to address the various needs of their respective properties,” Hannemann said.

Those unprecedented low travel prices are on their way out as vaccinations increase and COVID-19 restrictions loosen across the country.

Singh said, “I would refer to the past eight months, you know, the area of double digit rates, is coming to an end.”