Page 17 - NBIZ October 2023

• Texas Medical Center – With the largest medical
center in the world, healthcare is an important hotel
demand source for Houston. Medical research is
expanding with the new TMC Helix Park life science
campus, which is also attracting new biomedical
companies to Houston.
• Energy Industry – The Houston Energy Industry
continues to strengthen and diversify.
• Convention Industry – Convention bookings grew in
2023 and look strong for 2024 and beyond.
• Business Travel – Business hotel bookings for room Unemployment increased from 3.8% at the end of
nights as well as meetings and trainings have grown 2022 to 4.8% as of July 2023, partially due to people
in 2023 and will continue to strengthen in 2024. re-entering the labor force after a reduction last year.
• Sports Events – 2023 NCAA Final Four, 2024 Col- This is in line with the long-term average for Houston.
lege Football Championship Game, and 2026 World The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 53.6 in
Cup will all be in Houston. August 2023. When PMI is above 50, it indicates economic
• Space Exploration – Up, up and away! It is exciting expansion in the region.
to see space exploration continuing to expand both After a drop of 35 million in airport passengers in
at NASA and in the private sector. 2020, Houston is almost back to 2019 levels, which was
just under 60 million. As of July 2023, we are slightly
Economic Factors less than one million passengers below July 2019 levels
These economic factors tell the story of the past five with domestic lagging due to business travel, while
years and show where we are headed. 2019 was our international travel has had a strong return. At year-
last normal looking year with employment, personal end 2022, airport passenger activity reached just over
income, GMP, and inflation all in balance, until now. 54 million. While we are still just below 2019 levels,
With Covid, 2020 through 2022 was all over the place. Houston should return to that level by the end of the
Thankfully, there is finally a very strong pattern in year, given that year-to-date July 2023 passenger activity
2023 which reflects the strong demand that we are was at nearly 35 million.
experiencing. In both 2023 and 2024, income and infla- Convention activity is also important to the Houston
tion are finally in balance. 2024 is showing a slowdown hotel industry. Definite bookings for Houston conven-
in both employment and GMP, which is in line with a tions totaled about 640,000 definite room nights booked
slowdown in hotel demand, which is in line with what in 2023 with another 50,000 tentative room nights
hotels in the market are experiencing. Since the recent remaining for the year. In 2024, there are already over
surge, the market has seen growth in hotel demand. 310,000 definite room nights booked, with a target of
The hotel market will finally return to a more normal around 600,000 again next year. Convention bookings
pattern in 2025 with income exceeding inflation. are expected to continue to grow over the next few years.

Source: Oxford Economics – 2nd Quarter 2023

NBIZ ■ October 2023 17