KRALENDIJK – Although the average hotel occupancy on Bonaire shows a fairly stable picture, there is a negative trend visible in the average price that hotels are realizing per night.

This was revealed in a presentation earlier this week by the director of the Bonaire Hotel and Tourism Association (BONHATA), Veroesjka de Windt. While the average room rate in 2023 was $239, the average room rate in the first quarter of 2024 dropped to $223 per night. BONHATA expects the downward trend to continue in the second quarter, with the average room rate expected to be around $177 per night. In the same period of 2023, this was still $201 per night. 

Oversupply

Interestingly, the lower room price is not caused by lower visitor numbers. Figures from the Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) indicate that never before have so many stay-over tourists visited the island. 

According to De Windt, the decline in the average room rate is caused by the large number of rooms added in recent years. Many hotels are lowering prices to maintain occupancy at an acceptable level. The occupancy rate realized in the first quarter was 74%, the same as the previous year.