The average U.S. hotel rate in January rose 2.8 percent year over year

, as occupancy increased by 5.8 percent and revenue per available room increased by 8.7 percent, according to STR. "Demand remained strong, while room-rate growth edged slightly higher," STR CEO Mark Lomanno said in a statement. "The top end of the market continues to outpace the moderately priced hotel offerings, and we expect this trend to continue for the next several months." The largest rate increase was in the San Francisco area, where average rates were 11.9 percent higher than in January 2010. A few areas, including Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Va., and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., continued to see slight decreases in rates.