Hawaii hotels finished 2019 with the nation’s top hotel rate and revenue per available room, although occupancy earned a slightly lower ranking as the nation’s third best.

Occupancy at Hawaii hotels in 2019 rose to 81.2%, a small bump of 0.9 percentage points, according to hotel statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, using data from market research firm STR. However, the average daily rate at Hawaii hotels rose nearly 3% to $283 and revenue per available room climbed nearly 4% to $229. Many hotel professionals consider revenue per available room to be one of the most telling performance measures as it represents the amount of revenue each hotel earned per room regardless of the room’s occupancy status.

Most hotel markets statewide saw gains across all categories, except Oahu and Kauai.

There were downturns in every category for Kauai, and Oahu’s occupancy was flat, although at 84.2% it was the state’s highest occupancy. At the same time, Oahu realized 2% growth in average daily rate, which increased to nearly $241 and a nearly 3% rise in revenue per available room, which climbed to nearly $203.

Maui County continued to have the state’s highest rate at $399 and revenue per available room at $310. Hawaii island, which had a year of recovery after heightened volcanic eruptions in 2018, posted the best growth rate of the Hawaiian islands for revenue per available room, which increased nearly 7% to $205.