March was a good month for Houston hotels buoyed by increases in business travel and conventions like CERA Week.
Metro Houston hotel occupancy averaged 68.2% in the month of March, up 8% from March 2022. The average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR), key metrics for hotel performance, were up 8.2% and 16.9% respectively during the month compared with the year-earlier period.
Looking at key submarkets:
- Occupancy in Downtown/CBD was 67% in March, up 1.5% from March 2022. ADR was up 11.8% while RevPAR was up 13.5% from a year ago.
- The Galleria submarket experienced a 19.4% year-over-year increase in occupancy for the month. Demand was up 18.3% while ADR and RevPAR rose 0.8% and 20.4% respectively.
- The Medical Center/NRG saw the highest occupancy among submarkets at 71% in March, up just slightly from a year ago. Demand there was up 5.7% with ADR and RePAR up 10.2% and 10.3% respectively.
- The North Houston/Woodlands submarket experienced an 11.1% increase in occupancy to 68.6% in March. Demand in that area increased 10.5% year-over-year with ADR up 8.8% and RevPAR up 20.8% year-over-year.
Looking at Q1 2023, occupancy averaged 61.5%, up 13.4% compared with the first three months of 2022. ADR was up 9.7% to $113.80 while RevPAR rose 24.4% to $69.63.
Meanwhile, trends look positive for the remainder of the year. Major events like the recent NCAA Men’s Final Four tournament and the three-day series of Taylor Swift concerts are complementing the 29 major conventions booked this year, which includes a convention each week in the month of July.
(pictured: Lancaster Hotel)