The hotel business continues to strengthen nationally and in the Tampa Bay area. Tampa-St. Petersburg was one of three areas among the top 25 U.S. markets where the occupancy rate rose by double digits for the week ending May 14, according to Smith Travel Research. Occupancy hit 58.6 percent locally, up 11.1 percent from a year earlier. Only Dallas (16.8 percent) and New Orleans (15.2 percent) had bigger increases. Nationally, occupancy rose 4.5 percent to 62.8 percent, average daily rate increased 3.7 percent to $101.14, and revenue per available room jumped 8.4 percent to $63.50.