The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, or HANMI, reported a 45% occupancy rate among its 12 member hotels last month. 39,806 out of 68,804 room nights were sold in February. The average room rate was $138.56

At the same time last year, the average occupancy was just 19%.

“Compared to a year ago, February saw a tremendous increase in average occupancy and total rooms sold among HANMI member hotels due to strong demand during the Lunar New Year holiday and school winter vacations. However, the overall average occupancy rate of 45% remains critically low for hotels, as our profit margin starts at about 80% occupancy,” said HANMI Chairman Dennis Seo.

Seo added that the industry is looking forward to the return of Hong Kong Airlines in the next few weeks.

HANMI is made up of Aqua Resort Club, Aquarius Beach Tower, Century Hotel, Coral Ocean Resort, Grand Vrio Resort Saipan, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Kensington Hotel Saipan, Lao Lao Bay Golf & Resort, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, Saipan World Resort, and Surfrider Resort Hotel