THE Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands reported a 22.79% average occupancy rate among 11 member hotels for May 2025, 13.41% lower than 36.2% in May 2024.
According to HANMI, hotels typically require around 70-80% hotel occupancy to stay in operation.
A total of 14,807 of 64,963 available room nights were sold during May 2025 compared to 23,649 of 65,337 available rooms sold in May 2024. The average room rate was $119.99 compared to $123.52 last May.
The May 2025 figures exclude the former 315-room Hyatt Regency Saipan.
Visitor arrivals to The Marianas continue to decline in the face of fierce flight competition from the primary source market of South Korea, the sudden stop to processing of EVS-TAP applications for Chinese citizens by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security since April, and other factors.
“We are left this month with only one daily flight from South Korea, three flights a week from Japan, and one daily flight from Guam. The situation is dire,” said HANMI Chairman Dennis Seo. “Hotels are hanging on to keep our remaining staff onboard and keep our doors open so we can continue to contribute to the economy. We need the help of the federal government in restoring EVS-TAP immediately, and we need to make the necessary investments to attract new air service.”
Since the beginning of the year, the 11 HANMI member hotels — representing a majority of hotel rooms in The Marianas — have collectively lost 23% of their workforce, down from 1,200 employees in January to 928 employees in May. This also compares to over 2,100 collective employees among HANMI hotels in 2018.
Hotels included in HANMI’s monthly statistical report are Aqua Resort Club, Aquarius Beach Tower, Century Hotel, Coral Ocean Resort, Grandvrio Resort Saipan, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Kensington Hotel Saipan, LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, Saipan World Resort, and Surfrider Resort Hotel.
The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands was established in 1985 as a professional forum for the hospitality industry of The Marianas.
