Average daily hotel room rates in the Denver area and the rest of the state jumped in July from the previous year, but the average occupancy rate was down slightly.

The Rocky Mountain Lodging Report, released Tuesday by Bob Benton of Robert S. Benton & Associates, shows that the average Denver-area hotel room rate in July was $115.59, 11.8 percent higher than the $103.38 reported a year earlier.

The average occupancy rate for Denver-area hotels in July was 77.9 percent, compared with 78.1 percent in July 2006.

Downtown Denver hotels had the highest average room rate in the metro area at $155.87.

In the first seven months of the year, the average occupancy rate was 67.8 percent, compared with 66.5 percent for the same period in 2006, while the average room rate was $110.15, 11.5 percent higher than the $98.79 in the first seven months of 2006.

Hotels across the state showed a similar trend.

The average room rate for hotels statewide was $123.87, 8.7 percent higher than the $113.94 in July 2007, while the average daily room rate through July averaged $125.86, compared with $114.77 last year.

Statewide, the average occupancy rate in July was 74.4 percent, compared with 75.4 percent in July 2006.