A new report from Airbnb includes Houston among 25 places to visit in 2025, according to rankings compiled by the short-term rental company.
Houston made the list alongside global destinations such as Tokyo; Palermo, Italy; and Cartegena, Colombia, as well as U.S. hotspots like Green Bay, WI, and Charleston, SC. The list includes the most searched for destinations as well as those Airbnb users have “wishlisted” for future travel.
In their write-up, Airbnb editors said Houston “offers a wide variety of attractions including the Space Center Houston, as well as a robust restaurant scene, vibrant nightlife, sports, and acclaimed performing and visual arts…With so much to offer, we predict that this most wishlisted city will continue to be a guest favorite in 2025.”
Data on Houston’s short-term rental (STR) landscape appears to backup the city’s popularity among travelers seeking alternative lodging experiences. In the first 11 months of this year, bookings at STRs in metro Houston increased 15.8% over the same period in 2023, according to figures from the research group Key Data. The supply, or overall number of available room nights at the region’s STRs, increased by nearly 21% year over year and revenue grew 24%. In fact, metro Houston saw one of the largest spikes in STR revenue this year among peer cities such as New Orleans (up 13%), Austin (15.4%) and Dallas (18.3%). Only metro San Antonio with a 31.5% increase in revenue was higher.
Revenue generated from STRs contributes to the hotel occupancy taxes (HOT) collected in the region. Between 8% and 10% of the total HOT collected in the metro area each month comes from STRs.
Written by A.J. Mistretta