BEIRUT: The average occupancy rate in Beirut hotels declined by 3 percent, while the average room rate increased by 6 percent year-on-year, according to a study by Ernst & Young. Hotel occupancy was 68 percent in the first nine months of 2010, decreasing from 71 percent in the same period last year, the 11th highest in the region, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. The survey said the average room rate in Beirut hotels was $262, the third most expensive in the region behind Dubai-Beach and Doha and an increase of 6 percent compared to last year.