Maui hotel occupancies in November continued their double-digit gains over the depressed 2009 results for the same month.

Maui’s rate was still pedestrian at 65.7 percent, but much better than the 53.7 percent in November 2009. November is always one of the slowest months of the year for the visitor industry.

Hospitality Advisors released the survey Monday and said statewide occupancy gained 6.7 percentage points to 67.8 percent in November. That represented an acceleration in the comeback of the visitor industry, since the gain for the first 11 months was 5.8 percentage points, to 70.8 percent.

Other indicators, such as visitor arrivals, also have shown an accelerating rebound from a decline that began in the second quarter of 2008 and deepened dramatically after October 2008.

Oahu had the highest occupancy rate last month, 75.2 percent, but that was just a small gain over the 71.6 percent of the year before.

The Neighbor Islands have trailed Oahu in the tourism rebound, in part because east Asia has led the world economic recovery, and Oahu gets most Asian visitors. But Maui is catching up.

The Neighbor Island picture is mixed. In November, Hawaii gained 10.1 percentage points to 55.7 percent, but Kauai gained only 4 percentage points to 51 percent.

Maui room rates indicated that the Valley Isle’s operators are continuing to discount prices, which has helped buoy head counts. While this does not always do much for the bottom line of hotels and resort condominiums, it is considered good news for restaurants, retailers and activity providers, who have more potential customers on the island.

And, in November, the gain in occupancy did translate into a strong gain in revenue per available room for Maui.

Rack rates were boosted a mere 3 percent, to $207, but the revenue per room figure zoomed by more than 20 percent to $136.

The average statewide daily room rate last month rose 3.9 percent, to almost $169. That was the largest month-to-month upswing since March 2008, and only the third month out of the past 29 months that a rise in the statewide rate was reported.

”We’re seeing some strength in Waikiki, and momentum is building on Maui,” said Joseph Toy, president and chief executive officer of Hospitality Advisors. ”But the recovery has been uneven. They’re still fairly far behind on Kauai and the Big Island.”

Statewide room rates are still well below the average of $201 that was reached in 2008 during the height of the market, Toy said.

”To get back to where we were will be a long process, particularly for room rates,” he added.

There is no single approach in the island visitor industry.

Oahu operators pushed up rates by about $6 to $151 and saw single-room revenue rise a little more than 10 percent to $114.

On Hawaii, operators lowered rates by $3 to $174 and saw room revenue amount gain by 20 percent to $97.

On Kauai, rates were unchanged at $176, and revenue per available room rose $6 to $90.

Single-room revenue of under $100 is a poor showing for Neighbor Island resorts.

For the first 11 months, the Big Island’s revenue per available room was $102. Kauai’s was $110. Oahu’s was $115. It is unusual, or at least it used to be, for Oahu, with its many budget rooms, not to be at the bottom.

Maui has always been at the top, and so far this year its revenue per available room is averaging $151.

* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@maui news.com. The Associated Press contributed to this article.

KAHULUI – Costco plans to expand its Kahului store and build a gas station next door as part of A&B Properties’ first part of Maui Business Park Phase II.

For years, rumors have alleged that a corrupt bargain between other gasoline sellers and county government have kept Costco from selling gas here.

There is no truth to that, said Mike Dubrota of Northwest Atlantic, the real estate agent for Costco. “I’ve never received any push back,” he said Thursday.

The problem was that the lot was too small, 12.8 acres. The lot was not originally sized to fit Costco’s needs. It was intended for a Sam’s Club. When Wal-Mart backed out, Costco took over the property.

By annexing what A&B calls the old Central Power Plant lot, Costco will have room enough for a gas station, more customer parking and an expansion of its 131,000-square-foot store by about 15,000 square feet. A dust fence has been put up around the property where the gas station will be built.

The store will continue to operate during expansion work, Dubrota said.

However, even if there are no delays, the earliest the gas station could open for business would be mid-2012.

A&B still owns the land, and it is demolishing the buildings there.

Maui Business Park II will total about 178 acres, in two sections. The first section is much smaller, the land is between Kmart and Costco and the yet-unbuilt access road to Kahului Airport.

The Central Power Plant was built in 1917 to supply power to well pumps, Paia, Spreckelsville and nearby plantation camps. Later, Maui Electric Co. acquired the transmission lines and the power plant was abandoned in the 1970s.

A variety of tenants then used the location, but most of the buildings have been vacant for years, and one collapsed. The rest are considered unsafe.

A&B has permits to demolish the structures. Because of their historic interest, the state Historic Preservation Division required survey and documentation of the buildings.

Only two tenants, a trucking firm and a surfboard maker, were still using the lot until recently. Both are relocating.

Maui Business Park is a continuation of the Kahului light industrial area that A&B has been developing since the 1960s.

Before commercial buildings can be permitted, roads and utilities must be installed.

To move the land out of state agricultural use, A&B agreed to contribute 40 acres to the county for affordable housing, 7 acres for a community center and 3 acres for a park.

* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.