Houston’s hotel market saw minimal fluctuations across the board in December compared with the same month a year ago. Occupancy market-wide stood at 50.7% in December, down just 2.2% compared to December 2022. The average daily rate (ADR) gained 1.3% to $101.59 for the month while RevPAR ticked down less than 1% to $51.52.

A broader view: 

Hotels ended the full calendar year strong, compared to 2022, with healthy growth across most key performance indicators (KPIs). Occupancy, ADR and Demand all saw gains between 5-6%, with occupancy landing at 59.8%, up 5.6% year-over-year, and ADR reaching $113.24, an uptick of 6.3%. RevPAR and Revenue saw significant growth at 12.3% and 11.9% respectively.

Driving performance:

The 2023 TaxAct Texas Bowl that pitted Oklahoma State against Texas A&M drew tens of thousands of fans to town in December, which was a highlight of the month. Group business in December was mostly comprised of smaller meetings to round out the month.

Looking at key submarkets in December:

Though we saw some year-over-year decreases in central Houston markets in December, like the Houston CBD and the Galleria/Greenway Plaza submarkets, outlying submarkets saw gains.

• Occupancy stayed consistent in the Southwest Freeway submarket at 56.9%. compared to December 2022. Year-over-year ADR and RevPAR both increased by 5.5% to $78 and $44 respectively, while revenue rose by 7.5%.
• The Katy Freeway West submarket continues to see growth, with Occupancy up by 3.8% to 56.8%. ADR saw an uptick of 4.8% to $98 and growth for RevPAR, up 8.7% to $56.
• The North/Woodlands submarket saw gains across the board, with occupancy climbing slightly to 51.9% year to date. ADR and RevPAR were up 4.2% and 4.4% respectively. Demand in the submarket saw an uptick of 3.6% this December while revenue is up 8.0%.

2023 submarket highlights:

All the hotel submarkets saw calendar year 2023 increases in KPIs. Below are a few highlights.

• The Downtown/CBD market ended the year with occupancy at 58.2%, up 9.6% from a year earlier. ADR and RevPAR increased 5.6% and 8.7% respectively in the district.
• The Galleria/Greenway Plaza submarket recorded occupancy of 58.2% for 2023, up 14.4% from 2022. ADR rose 3.9% while RevPAR increased nearly 19%.
• Occupancy in the Medical Center/NRG area rose 4.6% year over year to 59% with ADR and RevPAR up 8.7% and 13.7% respectively.
• The Woodlands submarket saw a 4% year-over-year increase in occupancy to just under 62% while ADR increased 6.3% and RevPAR rose nearly 11%.

Written by Megan Henson 

Pictured: Houston Hilton, Texas Medical Center