KENSINGTON Hotel Saipan reopened on July 7 with reduced manpower.
In April, the hotel announced it would temporarily close from June 9 to July 6, 2025, for renovations.
The renovations were not structural in nature, Variety learned.
The hotel’s website is once again accepting reservations.
Both local residents and tourists have begun checking in at the hotel, but occupancy projections for July through September remain below 40%, Variety also learned.
Earlier, Micronesia Resort Inc. — a subsidiary of Eland Corp. and operator of the Kensington Hotel in San Roque — announced it would implement a reduction-in-force, effective May 21, 2025, to improve the hotel’s long-term sustainability.
The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands reported a 22.79% average occupancy rate among 11 member hotels for May 2025 — a 13.41% drop from the 36.2% recorded in May 2024.
According to HANMI, hotels generally need an occupancy rate of 70% to 80% to remain operational.
A total of 14,807 room nights out of 64,963 available were sold in May 2025, compared to 23,649 out of 65,337 in May 2024. The average room rate was $119.99, compared to $123.52 last May.
Visitor arrivals to the Marianas continue to decline due to several factors, including intense flight competition in the primary source market of South Korea and the sudden halt in EVS-TAP application processing for Chinese citizens by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security since April, HANMI stated.
Kensington Hotel Saipan
Photo by Bryan Manabat
Receptionists are seen in the lobby of Kensington Hotel Saipan on Wednesday.
Photo by Bryan Manabat
