Hawaii hotels ended 2016 with record highs in revenue, boosted by increases in visitor arrivals and a spike in room rates in December.

Hotels statewide reported a combined $5.73 billion in total revenue last year, with gross room revenue at $3.88 billion, according to a report that will be released today by STR Inc. and Hospitality Advisors LLC. The report shows a 5.7 percent increase in revenue from 2015.

The average daily room rate (ADR) increased 4.1 percent to $254.73. The increase led to a growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR), a 4.8 percent uptick from 2015 to $201.75. RevPAR is the amount a hotelier realizes per room regardless of whether that room is rented.

December room rates bumped up 7 percent statewide to $308.39 from $288.04 in December 2015. The December rates jumped 29.9 percent from the month before, as the ADR in November was $237.36.

Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors, said much of the higher ADR occurred in the luxury sector. Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina opened for business last year.

“September through November (are) typically the slowest part of the year. December is the start of the winter busy season,” he said.

December room revenue statewide surpassed $400 million for the first time in state history, according to STR and Hospitality Advisors. Total hotel revenue was $598 million statewide.

Industry leaders said the year-over-year gain was primarily due to steady airfares and discounts offered by hotels in early 2016.

Toy said the hotel deals brought more people to the islands.

“When we started in January of 2016, we had discounted room rates, which is really unheard of,” he said. “With those discounts we had a lot of packages created, which created a lot more interest. People started snapping that up, particularly from the West Coast.”

There was a 3.1 percent increase in visitor arrivals by air and a 1.9 percent increase in daily visitor spending, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

“Air means everything to us,” said Jerry Gibson, area vice president of Hilton Hawaii. “The reason that we’re doing well the last couple of years is because that air into the islands, particularly into Oahu and then fed into the other islands, has been very good. We’ve been very fortunate to have some very steady fuel prices, unlike a few years ago when they were gyrating up and down.”

Statewide occupancy for the year edged out last year’s record by 0.3 percentage points.

On Oahu, December’s occupancy was 82.8 percent, a 4.2 percentage point decline from last year. Oahu ADR rose 4.3 percent from December 2015 to $257.17.

For the year, Oahu hotels were 84.2 percent occupied, down nearly 1 percentage point, due in part to more than 1,000 rooms being added throughout the year at the Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki, the Ritz Carlton Waikiki and the Four Seasons Ko Olina.

Despite the decline, Toy said the occupancy numbers represented a near full house. Hoteliers consider occupancy percentages like December’s to mean a full hotel because at any given time some rooms are expected to be offline for improvements, he said.

Toy said individual vacation units, such as Airbnb, Homeaway and VRBO, helped the tourism market retain visitors who may have opted for other destinations with hotel rooms unavailable.

“One of the things that (has) alleviated the pressure on Oahu was individual vacation units,” he said. “They helped absorb some of the demand on Oahu that otherwise may have gone to other destinations.”

For the year, room rates increased to $227.50 on Oahu, up from $219.63 in 2015. RevPAR was $191.56, up from $186.91 the year before.

Maui’s occupancy rose to 75.9 percent for the full year, or 1.6 percentage points above 2015. Hotels there had a ADR of $331.54, up from $317.79 in 2015. RevPAR rose 6.1 percent year-over-year to $251.64. Maui’s December occupancy rose to 76.2 percent, a 3.8 percentage points gain from 2015.

Toy said Maui’s increase in occupancy was due in part to traveling business groups.

December ADR was $449.11 on Maui, up from $403.41 in 2015. RevPAR rose 17.1 percent year-over-year to $342.22.

Occupancy at Kauai hotels improved to 72.6 percent in 2016, up from 71.1 percent in 2015. ADR increased to $253.90, up from $242.58. RevPAR climbed 6.8 percent year-over-year t0 $184.33.

Kauai hotels improved occupancy to 71.8 percent in December, a 3.5-percentage-point climb from 2015. ADR increased to $303.04, up from $283.70. RevPAR climbed 12.2 percent year-over-year t0 $217.58 from $193.77 in 2015.

Hotel occupancy on Hawaii island in 2016 rose 3.1 percentage points from the same month in 2015 to 68.8 percent. Room rate grew year-over-year to $242.45. RevPAR, rose to $166.81 during the same period.

Hawaii island occupancy rose 10.2 percentage points in December from the same month in 2015 to 74.2 percent.

Room rates grew to $297.98, up from $288.50 in 2015. RevPAR increased to $221.10 from $187.53 during the same period.