Buoyed by a boost in the number of visitors to Hawai'i in January, statewide hotel occupancy rose during the month for the first time since April 2006, industry analysts reported yesterday.

Hawai'i's hotels were 75.7 percent full in January, a 1.7 percentage-point increase from the same month a year earlier, according to data compiled by Smith Travel Research and Hospitality Advisors LLC.

Profitability also improved. The average room rate rose again in January, growing by 6.5 percent to $213.49. Revenue per available room, a key gauge of a hotel operator's performance, rose to $161.68.

Hospitality Advisors President Joseph Toy said the increase was fueled by convention-goers, sports travel and an upswing in independent travelers.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported last week that visitor arrivals rose to 597,126 in January, a 4.1 percent increase from a year earlier. And the visitors stayed longer — an average of 10.54 days, a 3.3 percent increase from January 2007.

Another bright spot in the hotel data, was Maui's Wailea area, which reported a 25.7 percent increase in revenue per available room to $347.17 in January.

Overall, Maui statistics were solid, with a 1 percentage-point increase in occupancy to 77.2 percent, and an average daily rate hike of 9.1 percent to $282.58 per night.

O'ahu occupancy also increased, improving by 1.8 percentage points to 76.7 percent. The average daily room rate rose 4.8 percent to $177.12.

Kaua'i occupancy rose 3.2 percentage points to 73.1 percent, and the average daily rate increased 6.7 percent to $217.15. Big Island occupancy rose 1.4 percentage points to 71.2 percent, with an increase of 7.7 percent in average daily rate to $223.27.

Lower-priced "economy" hotels was the only category to experience a drop in occupancy — a 1.2 percentage-point decline to 79.8 percent. The daily rate rose 6.2 percent to $119.02.

The cheaper category of budget hotels saw an occupancy increase of 3.2 percentage points to 79.6 percent, while room rates improved by 1.3 percent to $103.07.

The survey included 152 properties representing 46,349 rooms, or 81.9 percent of all lodging properties with 20 rooms or more including hotels and condominium hotels. The state estimates that there are a total of 72,516 visitor units statewide with about half, or 34,000, on O'ahu.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.