Maui hotels were 73 percent full during the first nine months of the year, ranking Maui in the No. 3 spot among more than 38,000 "island and sun" properties worldwide, according to a report by Honolulu-based Hospitality Advisors.
Maui's occupancy rate for the January-September period is up 2 percent over the same period of 2011.
Oahu hotel occupancy ranked highest among Hawaii's so-called global competitors at 85.6 percent, followed by Puerto Rico at 74.5 percent. Phuket, Thailand and Bali rounded out the top five.
The report is based on international and U.S. hotel data complied by Smith Travel Research and covers more than 38,000 properties that represent approximately 5 million rooms.
In the revenue-per-available-room category, Maui hotels ranked highest among the main Hawaiian Islands, after the Maldives archipelago and French Polynesia.
Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, is a key metric that represents the average daily rental revenue earned per available room during a given period.
For the first nine months of the year, Maui had the third-highest RevPAR at $190, up 8 percent from a year ago.
The Maldives and French Polynesia took the top two spots, while Oahu ranked fifth-highest at $155, an 18 percent gain over last year.
Maui's average hotel room rate also was third-highest among competitors, with an average daily rate of $259.
Average rates on Kauai, Hawaii island and Oahu ranked sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
"Hawaii's strong recovery, and in particular the record pace in hotel revenue, have helped strengthen each island's performance among its top competitors among the island and sun destinations," Joseph Toy, president and chief executive officer of Hospitality Advisors, said in a statement. "The recovery in Hawaii has been remarkable given where we were just two years ago."
Maui enjoyed increased visitor arrivals and spending during the January-September period, according to a separate Hawaii Tourism Authority report.
Visitor arrivals to Maui were up almost 6 percent to 1.73 million through September, while total visitor expenditures on Maui increased nearly 20 percent to $2.7 billion during the first nine months of the year.
