Dive Brief:
- Honolulu-based Alaka’i Development secured $135 million in construction financing to bring a dual-branded Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotel to the Hawaiian island of Oahu, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
- The five-story, 204-room property will be the first hotel on Oahu’s Ewa Beach, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s report, which Alaka’i Development confirmed to Hotel Dive.
- Though the Oahu hotel market is seeing performance growth, its options are “currently limited” for extended stay and interisland travelers, Alaka’i Development Principal Jon Wallenstrom shared with Hotel Dive, noting that the dual-branded Hyatt property aims to address this lack.
Dive Insight:
According to Wallenstrom, the hotel will cater largely to three kinds of travelers: business travelers, including government and military contractors working at nearby Pearl Harbor; Hawaii-based interisland travelers; and leisure travelers.
“Options are currently limited, especially for extended stay travelers, families and groups such as interisland sports teams,” he added.
The property, when built, will also be the first hotel on Oahu’s newly opened mass transit system, which will give guests access to the airport and “nearby employment centers,” Wallenstrom said.
The hotel’s construction could begin in 2025, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. When completed, it will feature 108 Hyatt Place rooms and 132 Hyatt House rooms.
CBRE’s Capital Markets Debt and Structured Finance team secured the hotel’s financing and joint venture equity, per the report.
Oahu has strong hotel performance indicators, including the second-highest 12-month occupancy rate in the U.S. at nearly 81%, according to STR. Oahu is also the only market in the state to have seen year-over-year hotel performance growth as of this summer, with other parts of Hawaii seeing declines.
In May, Oahu’s hotel market also logged the second-highest events volume growth in the country, following Las Vegas, according to Knowland. And earlier this year, Marriott International opened a business traveler-focused AC Hotel on the island.
Meanwhile, Alaka’i Development is among the hotel players betting on the dual-brand model. In July, Hilton opened a dual-flag resort in South Carolina. And earlier this year, IHG Hotels & Resorts said it plans to open 40 dual-brand Avid Hotels and Candlewood Suites properties with the aim of attracting extended stay travelers.
According to a 2020 Cornell University study, dual-branded hotels often generate higher ADRs and RevPAR than single-branded ones.
