Page 16 - NBIZ October 2023

THE HOUSTON HOTEL

INDUSTRY IS

RESILIENT

By Patrick and Randy McCaslin

Houston Hotel Industry
Over the past decade, Houston hotels have continued to weather the
storm, both literally through hurricanes, and figuratively through oil
booms and busts, recessions, and the recent impact of Covid-19 on travel.
Despite these difficulties, the Houston hotel market continues to be
resilient.
While it is easy to get caught up in the fear of future downturns, we will
instead examine all of the various hotel demand generators that contribute
to the resiliency of the Houston hotel market presently and in the future.

Houston Hotel Market Factors
The driving forces of the Houston economy that contribute to its
continued resilience are as follows:

• Global Trade - Global trade is a major economic driver in Houston with
continued growth and expansion of the Port of Houston.
• International Travel – International travel is surging through July
2023 and should be back to 2019 levels by year-end. The planned ex-
pansion of the international terminal at Hobby Airport and soon to be
completed international terminal expansion at Bush Intercontinental
Airport will continue to grow international air travel to Houston.

16 NBIZ ■ October 2023