Feb. 23–Hawaii's hotel industry kicked off the year with solid growth in average daily rate and revenue per available room in January, according to a hotel performance report released Thursday by Hawaii Tourism Authority.

HTA reported statewide occupancy in January remained flat at 81.7 percent, but the agency reported that statewide average daily rate grew nearly 5 percent to $295 in January.

HTA said revenue per available room grew just over 5 percent to $241. For many in the industry, RevPAR growth is the best indicator of success since it is the amount that a hotelier gets for each room in the property regardless of whether or not that room is rented.

"We anticipated January would be a good month for Hawaii's hotels statewide given the additional airlift coming into the state," said Jennifer Chun, HTA director of tourism research, in a statement. She said robust business on the neighbor islands, particularly Maui, offset softness in Oahu.

"Maui County's results, particularly the Wailea region, were phenomenal in January. Additionally, the growth in RevPAR and ADR for the other neighbor islands helped to elevate the overall averages statewide," she said.

Oahu hotel properties saw RevPAR drop just over 2 percent to $199 and ADR fall nearly 3 percent to $239, while occupancy remained stable at 83.1 percent. Maui's January occupancy rose just over 1 percentage point to 79.5, while RevPAR rose just over 15 percent to $345 and ADR rose nearly 14 percent to $434.

Occupancy at Hawaii island hotels was flat at 80.6 percent, but RevPAR increased nearly 8 percent to $232, boosted by a nearly 8 percent increase in ADR to $287.

Kauai hotel occupancy was nearly flat at 80.5 percent, but the island saw a nearly 10 percent rise in RevPAR, which climbed to $245. Likewise, Kauai hotel experienced a nearly 9 percent gain in ADR, which rose to $304.

HTA's Tourism Research Division issued the report's findings utilizing data compiled by STR Inc.