2024 was an exceptional year for growth in the Houston hotel market. According to recent data from STR, Houston led the Top 25 markets in occupancy, RevPAR and ADR gains this past year, surpassing both New York and Chicago in year-over-year growth. By the end of 2024, Houston’s overall hotel market showed a 7.8% YOY gain in occupancy, an almost 7% increase in ADR and a whopping 15% increase in RevPAR, outperforming New York’s RevPAR growth by almost 6%.

According to STR, hurricanes, events and calendar shifts played a strong role in the impact of the local market. Houston had two major weather events, the Derecho in May and Hurricane Beryl in July, that filled gaps in summer hotel demand and prompted spikes in year-over-year KPIs. Demand in the Downtown CBD the week of the Derecho, for example, saw a 53.3% gain due to widespread power outages in the region. Similarly, Hurricane Beryl showed occupancy lifts across major submarkets as local residents sought out accommodations and shelter from the heat amidst power outages and other storm related damage. Effects of weather were a consistent driver of demand for Houston in late Q2 and early Q3, long after the event itself, as out-of-residence contractors and vendors stayed in Houston to assist recovery.

Though weather-related instances prompted gains, Houston was already positioned to have a solid year as business and group travel showed gains. Houston benefited from a strong conference schedule in 2024, hosting major groups like the 2024 Commodity Classic/National Corn Growers Association, CERAWeek, and AfroTech, a conference most recently relocated from Austin to Houston--all of which supported attendees well over 3,000 room nights on peak in the Downtown area, causing compression into other submarkets around Houston.

Written by Megan Henson