TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A winner has emerged from the Republican National Convention: the Tampa Bay area's hotels.The Tampa Bay Times reports that during the week of the RNC in August, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area saw the biggest performance boost among the top 25 hotel markets in the country. According to Smith Travel Research Inc., the Tampa Bay area hosted more than 50,000 guests for the RNC and saw a 73 percent occupancy rating - a jump of 48 percent compared to the same week last year. The average amount hotels charged guests for a room each night they stayed for the RNC was up 107 percent compared to 2011. Last year, the average room rate was $82.65. During the convention it jumped to $171.14.