Among Texas’ four largest metropolitan areas, Austin and San Antonio have the state’s highest rates for overnight hotel stays. According to STR, CoStar’s hospitality analytics company, both cities also experienced the highest percent and absolute dollar growth compared to pre-pandemic levels. Demand for hotel rooms has primarily been driven by Texas’s pro-business culture, restored citywide events, and the return of large conventions.
While hotel rates didn’t quite reach the highs achieved in other top U.S. leisure destinations that have sought-after beaches, the state saw considerable increases over 12 months, ranging in the upper double digits throughout the last year. Higher hotel demand from “revenge travelers,” people wanting to make up for lost travel during the pandemic, and a new supply of upper-tier hotels in popular destination areas provided leverage for many hoteliers to charge more per room.