Hawai'i hotel occupancy fell in November for the ninth straight month to the lowest level since the months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The state's hotels were just 63 percent full in November, down from 72 percent in November 2007, according to the latest Hawai'i Hotel monthly report by Hospitality Advisors LLC.

The decline in hotel occupancy follows a 15.8 percent drop in November visitor arrivals, reported earlier by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Hotel occupancy improved in December, but it wasn't as big a bump as the holiday season normally brings, said Joseph Toy, Hospitality Advisors president and CEO.

Toy noted that high fuel prices were just starting to turn in November and growing unemployment already was hitting hard, pushing many consumers to cancel or postpone vacations.

"Consumer confidence was falling rapidly at that time," he said. "A lot of it has led to people just not booking travel."

Toy also said November statistics reflected "the stock market crashing as it was."

November was a volatile month for stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by more than 400 points on five separate days.

With occupancy down, hotel operators had to lower rates. The statewide average daily room rate fell for the fifth straight month, down 3.9 percent compared with $178.50 last year.

The November occupancy rate was the lowest for any November since 2001 when terrorism fears seriously hampered travel and Hawai'i's hotels were just 57.7 percent occupied.

On a year-over-year basis, the 9 percentage point drop in November occupancy was surpassed by an 11 percent decline two months earlier when the occupancy rate fell to 63.2 percent over the previous year.

Toy said the current economy is affecting two types of travelers: those who book their plans two to three months out and also those who now book two to three weeks before they travel.

O'ahu reported the highest occupancy statewide of 68.5 percent, but still was 5.4 percentage points down from a year earlier.

Occupancy on the Big Island fell 12.1 percentage points to 50.1 percent. Maui occupancy fell 12.9 percentage points to 60.5 percent for November.

Kaua'i occupancy fared slightly better than Maui, falling 13.1 percentage points to 60.9 percent.

O'ahu's average daily room rate fell 2.1 percent to $157.91 for November while Kaua'i reported the largest decline islandwide with a 5.7 percent drop to $181.85. The Big Island reported a 5.6 percent decrease to $176.16 and Maui fell 4.3 percent to $224.68.

The Neighbor Islands were particularly hard hit with Maui, Hawai'i and Kaua'i each reporting decreases in the key industry index of revenue per available room of more than 20 percent for the month.

Hawai'i's luxury regions of Wailea on Maui and the Kohala Coast on the Big Island saw large declines across the board in November. On an occupancy basis, Wailea fell 10.8 percent to 57.3 percent, with the Kohala Coast falling 16.4 percent to 45.3 percent in November.

The monthly hotel survey is compiled by Smith Travel Research in conjunction with Hospitality Advisors.