Hawaii Vacation News Roundup for July 27th

Lots of interesting Hawaii related news today – from “The King” to milk and everything in between.

• A life sized bronze statue of Elvis Presley was unveiled yesterday at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.  TV Land donated the sculpture as a tribute to his 1973 “Aloha from Hawaii” concert. 

• The average hotel room rate across Hawaii is $228 per night, which is a 9% increase over last year.  Maui room rates are the highest at $318 per night, per MSN. 

• Occupancy rates across the state continue to be on a decline as compared to the same period last year. (Um, maybe it is because the room rates have increased by 9%?)  The Big Island must feel a little bigger and roomier with the lowest occupancy rate in the state at 68.4%.

• ATA Airlines plans to upgrade its frequent flier program by partnering with Points.com.  The new program will allow you to  swap, earn, and redeem miles and points with more than 25 different carriers including Delta and United.  Points can also be redeemed with other Points.com partners such as Amazon.com and Starbucks.  ATA serves more Hawaiian cities non-stop from the Mainland than any other airline per Pacific Business News. 

• The price of milk in Hawaii is notoriously high and it’s reaching new highs.  KHNL found
  the cost of a gallon of milk to be $8.99 recently, but you can get it “on sale” for $7.49 with a value card.