2024 was a standout year for Houston hotels, with exceptional growth across key performance indicators. For the full calendar year, the Houston hotel market showed a 7.7% gain in occupancy and an average rate of $121, a 6.8% increase over 2023. RevPAR for the year grew by a solid 15%, reaching $78 on average, while demand and revenue gained 8.2% and 15.5%, respectively.
The month of December alone in Houston showed occupancy at 51.7%, up 1.9% YOY and $109 in ADR, up 7.2%. RevPAR gained 9.1%, reaching $56, while revenue increased 9.3%.
December Submarket Comparison:
- The Downtown/Houston CBD submarket showed an 8.6% YOY gain in occupancy to 45.6% and a 7.8% gain in rate to $192. RevPAR increased a respectable 17% to $87, while demand and revenue showed an 11.6% and 20.3% gain, respectively.
- The George Bush Airport submarket showed the highest occupancy in the city, reaching 57.7%, up 7-points compared to December 2023. ADR hit $85, up 9.5%, while RevPAR gained 17.1% and revenue increased 17.9%.
- The Houston Hobby Airport/NASA submarket displayed substantial growth, showing a 21.7% gain in rate to $92 and a 5.8% increase in occupancy to 52.6%. RevPAR increased 28.8% to $49, while revenue showed a 37.3% increase.
- The Medical Center/NRG submarket ended the month at 52.2% in occupancy, up 4.4%, and $132 in ADR, up 4.7%. RevPAR gained 9.4% YOY to $69, while demand gained almost 6 points.
Year-End Highlights
2024 was the year of business travel gains, a rise in weekday and luxury travelers, and strong RevPAR growth in Houston. These trends are due, in part, to the demand and success of meetings and convention travel in 2024, as associations and businesses continued to increase in-person gatherings. Some notable conventions were held this year including CERAWeek, an energy conference that took place in March at the George R. Brown Convention Center producing just over 6,000 room nights on peak; OTC, an oil and gas conference held in May at NRG Park, which prompted month-over-month RevPAR and revenue gains market wide at 25.1% and 25.7%, respectively; and AfroTech, a new-to-Houston technology conference held in November, which drove occupancy rates in Downtown to 98% at the height of the conference.
In addition to business travel, hotel KPIs benefited from Houston’s reputation as a sports town, hosting several different sporting events throughout the year, highlighting both football and fútbol. The year kicked off with the College Football Championship in January, driving occupancy in the CBD to 95% the day of the game and ADR to $448 on average. COPA, a soccer tournament with multiple matches held in Houston this past year, drove growth across the city in June and early July, particularly in the Medical Center/NRG and Uptown/Greenway Plaza submarkets, showing double digit lifts in demand. Finally, the year ended on a strong note, due to increased demand on Christmas Day and New Years Eve, in anticipation of Beyonce playing the halftime show of the Christmas Day Texans game and the Texas Bowl, held at NRG, pitting Baylor against LSU.
Written by Megan Henson
