Hawaii hotels performed well against comparable island/sun destinations in 2010, according to a global competitive ranking released today by hotel consultancy Hospitality Advisors LLC.

"Hotel occupancy has been generally increasing along with the economic recovery under way for both the U.S. and most of Hawaii’s global competitors," said Joseph Toy, president and chief executive officer of Hospitality Advisors LLC.

While hotel rates for Hawaii have continued to lag demand, Toy said strong branding as a safe and convenient U.S. destination with a variety of hospitality choices has kept the state and its individual islands competitive.

"We remain top of mind," he said.

Oahu, which filled 78.2 percent of its hotel inventory in 2010, was last year’s best-ranked island/sun destination for hotel occupancy. Maui, which filled 68.1 percent of its hotel inventory, was ranked fourth behind Guam and Bali for occupancy. Puerto Rico, Phuket, the Maldives and Aruba posted better occupancy than Kauai, which had a 59.2 percent occupancy rate that took ninth place.

Despite continuing to lose rate growth last year, hotels on all four major Hawaiian islands earned spots in Toy’s top-10 list for best average daily rate (ADR). Maui’s $226.07 ADR represented a 4.8 percent decline from the prior year; however, it came in third for island/sun destinations behind the Maldives and Bahamas.

Aruba’s ADR was higher than Kauai, which had an ADR good for fifth place after falling 2.3 percent year-over-year to $184.52. Likewise, the Big Island took sixth place on the list even though its ADR fell 1 percent to $183.63. Oahu’s ADR of $149.67 represented a 0.3 percent drop from 2009 and earned it the eighth-best spot on Toy’s list behind the Maldives, the Bahamas, Aruba, Puerto Rico and all major Hawaiian islands.

Revenue per available room (revPAR) on Maui grew 10 percent to $153.94; however, the Maldives outperformed it. Hotels in the Bahamas and Aruba fared better than Oahu, which saw its revPAR rise 7.9 percent to $117.02, the fifth-ranked island/sun destination. Puerto Rico’s RevPar outpaced Kauai and the Big Island; however, both islands performed better than Guam and Bali. Kauai’s revPAR rose 1.5 percent to $109.24, the seventh best among island/sun destinations. RevPar on the Big Island rose 4.4 percent to $103.55, the eighth best in the ranking.

When compared with other island/sun countries, Hawaii’s 70.7 percent occupancy ranked fifth behind Singapore, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. It outpaced the Caribbean, China, Mexico and Thailand. Hawaii’s ADR, which dropped 1.6 percent to $174.33 for 2010, was second only to Singapore. It performed better than the Caribbean, Australia, South Korea, China, Thailand, Mexico and New Zealand. Hawaii’s revPAR in 2010, which rose 7.4 percent to $123.25, also followed Singapore. The state’s revPAR was better than Australia, South Korea, Caribbean, China, New Zealand, Thailand and Mexico.