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People traveled and stayed in Utah hotels during August, despite all the woes afflicting the outside world.

Occupancy rates statewide increased to 73.9 percent, up 4.4 percent from the previous August. An even greater gain occurred in Salt Lake County, home to nearly half the state's rooms, with monthly occupancy rising to 80.9 percent. That was up 5.2 percent from the same month a year earlier and 10 percent since August 2009, according to the Denver-based Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.

"Across most parts of the state there are some good increases," said Utah Hotel & Lodging Association (UHLA) President Michael Johnson, attributing much of the boost to "a lot of consumers who had held off on a vacation deciding it's time to do something as a family again."

Utah's lodging results coincided with those of mountain resorts across the West.

"Despite a dramatic drop in consumer confidence, wide fluctuations in the stock market and the twin natural disasters of hurricane and heavy flooding, reservation activity for Western mountain destinations remained solid," said Ralf Garrison, director of the Mountain Travel Research Program, also out of Denver.

Occupancy last month was up 7.5 percent year-over-year at the 265 property management companies his operation monitors in Utah, Colorado, California and Oregon.

In addition, bookings for rooms in the six months through January 2012 are 17.6 percent ahead of last year.

"For now, the booking trends appear to be defying economic gravity in many [of our] destinations," Garrison said, while expressing concern about a "worrisome" decline in consumer confidence.

Added his research analyst, Tom Foley: "Vacation travel is generally considered to be a discretionary expense and can be vulnerable in an uncertain economy. But we continue to see signs that mountain resort travel is defying that conventional wisdom."

Johnson concurred but noted that the increased travel trend is a national phenomenon, too. Occupancy nationwide during August was up 3 percent over the previous year. Besides reflecting a surge of family summer vacations in August, the UHLA executive also noted a resumption in business travel.

"Companies that have good relationships with customers based on face-to-face contact decided [they] have to be back out in front of people and can't hold off anymore," Johnson said.

"Whether it's to conventions, trade shows or business sales meetings, if companies had a little money, they could afford to send folks out to drum up a little business."

Nor did it hurt that the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show drew a record crowd to the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center. Organizers said 25,000 retailers, exhibitors and media attended the Aug. 4-7 trade show.

Salt Lake County hoteliers also were able to charge higher nightly rates last month after a prolonged period of having to offer discounts.

The average nightly rate was $103, up almost $7 a night from the previous August. A figure hoteliers pay more attention to — revenue per available room — improved even more, to $10 nightly.

Utah's mountain resorts filled 54 percent of their rooms last month, up from 48 percent in August 2010. Room rates also were up $7 a night.

Cedar City and Davis County were the only hotel hubs to register year-over-year declines in occupancy, but both drop-offs were slight.

For the first eight months of the year, occupancy levels are up 2.7 percent statewide and 3.4 percent in Salt Lake County. Average nightly rates have increased about $1.75.

mikeg@sltrib.comTwitter: @sltribmikeg —

Fewer vacancies

Nightly hotel occupancy rates in seven of Utah's nine lodging districts showed improvement last month over August 2010:

Location 2011 2010

Salt Lake County 81% 76%

Mountain resorts 54% 48%

St. George 56% 51%

Utah County 74% 72%

Davis County 80% 81%

Ogden 77% 73%

Cedar City 75% 75%

Logan 76% 70%

Elsewhere in Utah 73% 72%

Total 74% 70%