"It was probably about the same as last year."
The increase in Hawke's Bay for the whole of 2016 was even higher than in December, at 11.9 per cent.
Guest nights in Hastings rose 14.2 per cent in December, although November's increase was even more at 26.7 per cent.
Napier had a smaller rise of 9.2 per cent in December - but still far higher than the national average.
Guest nights were up 3.4 per cent nationally, but the higher increase was in the North Island.
"North Island guest nights were 5.3 percent higher than in December 2015," Statistics New Zealand spokesman Neil Kelly said.
The increase in the South Island was just 0.9 per cent.
All regions other than Canterbury, which was affected by the Kaikoura earthquake, had some rise in guest nights.
Increases in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki/Manawatu-Wanganui were particularly high.
International travellers led the rise - overseas visitors' guest nights were up 7.5 per cent nationally.
This reflects an 11 per cent increase in international visitor arrivals in December.
Motel stays in all New Zealand were up 5 per cent among all travellers, and 19.6 per cent for international tourists.
Mr Mumitich said his motel had more Kiwi guests from various regions than overseas tourists.
"We get a mixture of people from north and south," he said.
Nights spent in hotels and holiday parks were also up, but stays in backpackers' hostels were down.
Capacity is down slightly across the whole country, with 1.6 per cent less short-term accommodation available.
