Hawai'i's hotel occupancy in October cooled slightly from a year earlier's simmering pace, though hoteliers said the month heralded a new high in terms of what they could charge for their rooms.

Industry executives said statewide room occupancy was still healthy at 75.7 percent and noted a much-watched measure, revenue per available room, rose to $128, topping the record high for an October that was set last year.

"It was still a very good month," said Barry Wallace, Outrigger Enterprises Group, one of the state's largest hotel operators. "2005 was an extraordinarily strong October."

In recent months, hotel occupancy has been slipping when compared with 2005, a record-breaking year for tourism. October's occupancy was 3.7 percentage points lower than a year earlier and was in keeping with the month's 4.2 percent lower visitor arrivals announced by the state last week. Some hotels reported bookings dipped around the time of the Oct. 15 earthquakes that struck Hawai'i, but that the month turned in a respectable performance.

"We are definitely on the other side of the peak," said Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors, which compiles the occupancy numbers in conjunction with Smith Travel Research. "The good news is in a shoulder month with occupancy close to 76 percent, that nonetheless indicates there's still strength in the market. And the outlook for the first quarter, from all accounts, appear solid."

He said the Oct. 15 earthquakes "probably had some limited impact" on the industry but that there also is a slight softening in the market caused in part by slower growth in the economy.

The numbers indicated hotels weren't having to lower rates to attract guests and that the average room rates in all of Hawai'i's resort areas rose. Statewide, average room rates climbed 6.8 percent to $169.09, a record for an October.

Wallace said a number of factors contributed to the solid numbers, including strong tourist traffic from the Mainland.

"For Outrigger, all of our properties sort of outperformed the market, so we were pleased," he said.

The news wasn't uniformly sunny for all markets within the state, though, with O'ahu experiencing a 7.7 percentage point decline in occupancy and revenue per available room slipping below October 2005's level. Revenue per available room, or revpar, is a performance measure that combines occupancy and room rates to gauge financial health.

Maui registered an increase in occupancy and revpar, a feat also duplicated by Kaua'i during the month. Hawai'i County's occupancy fell slightly while revpar increased.

Wallace said Outrigger's 2007 bookings are coming in at a slower pace than this year's but that the company is still expecting a strong first quarter because people are tending toward booking vacations later.

The occupancy report was compiled through a survey of 140 properties representing 78 percent of all lodging in the state with 20 or more rooms.

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.