Page 6 - NBIZ Magazine December 2020

HOUSTON HOTEL INDUSTRY

RECOVERY

By Randy and Patrick McCaslin

Impact of Covid-19 on the Hotel National Economy and the Impact recover quickly and/or what the future
Industry on Hotel Demand will bring.
The hotel industry is one of the Hotel demand on the national level
hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. has been affected not only by Covid-19 Houston Hotel Market Factors
Occupancy rates dropped to historic but also by many uncertainties about The driving forces of the Houston
lows overnight, falling into the single the future, including: economy have been affected by Covid-
digits at the start of the pandemic. • Political Unrest 19. The recovery of these factors will
Standard occupancy rates are typically • 2020 Election determine how quickly Houston will
between 60% to 70%, which are now • International Travel Bans rebound and hotel demand will return,
averaging 30% to 40% in most markets. • Economic Downturn as follows:
With a halt to corporate travel, numer- • Lack of Additional Stimulus • Global Trade - Global trade is return-
ous restrictions on leisure travel, and Packages ing faster than expected; it was down
no group meetings or conventions • Stock Market Volatility 30% in April, but it was only down 7%
being held in person, hotels have had to • Fires, Hurricanes, and Earthquakes in July.
furlough the majority of their employ- These uncertainties affect travel • International Travel - While much
ees and run their properties with a and lodging and make it difficult to of the global travel has come to a
skeleton crew just to survive. know whether the hotel industry will halt with the travel bans, the silver

6 NBIZ ■ December 2020