By the Caribbean Journal staff

Caribbean hotel occupancy rose by 0.6 percent in July, according to a new report from STR.

Occupancy stood at 70.7 percent at the end of the month, a modest increase compared to the same month in 2013.

Revenues and average daily rates increased however: the region’s average daily rate rose by 5.5 percent to $177.36.

And revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose by 6.1 percent to $125.43 in July.

For the year to date, occupancy stands at 71.8 percent, a 0.2 percent increase over the first seven months of 2013.

STR’s report surveyed 1,894 hotels comprising 225,644 rooms.