NASHVILLE, Tennessee — While lower visitation from Japanese travelers continues to be a worry, there's an increasing sense of optimism for PM Hotel Group's Hawaiian portfolio as it sees increasing demand from business and group travel.
Speaking on the latest episode of the "CoStar News Hotels" podcast recorded at the Hotel Data Conference, PM Hotel Group's Executive Vice President of Commercial Strategy Erica Lipscomb said performance has exceeded expectations in Hawaii this year.
"We just opened up a Hyatt Place in Hawaii, We were very worried about what we would see, and we just saw that hotel just take off like it didn't even need a ramp. So that's been exciting. We have other projects in the pipeline for Hawaii," she said.
PM Hotel Group's business travel segment has beaten the company's projections the most, Lipscomb said.
"The biggest concern is international travel, and really, what we were concerned about is not having that piece," she said. "But again, being able to tap into true business travel has been our success, and so we're just in a great location for it. It's all about the right location. If you're in the right location, there's still demand for business travel that's not necessarily all international."
The growth of business travel has been a trend outside just Hawaii, and Lipscomb believes it helped lift up numbers throughout the summer, particularly in markets not hosting matches for the FIFA World Cup.
"We're seeing [a business travel rebound], but it's a shorter booking window," she said. "But we're optimistic that it's going to continue. There's no reason that it won't continue."
For more from our interview with PM Hotel Group's Erica Lipscomb, watch the video above or listen to the audio-only podcast version.