Why does rsync change directory permissions

[joe at actionline.com]

When using rsync to upload files to my web host,
it is changing directory permissions so things don't work
until I ssh in and change the directory permission back
to 755.

Why is it doing this and what do I need to do to keep
the permissions as they are set on my local system at 755.

Here's the syntax that I used first and second. I added the 'p'
thinking that would preserve permissions, but it did not.

rsync -avH --progress /home/joe/mydata/av7/website/
vsiqcom at box582.bluehost.com:www/av7/website/
rsync -avHp --progress /home/joe/mydata/av7/website/
vsiqcom at box582.bluehost.com:www/av7/website/