New report shows hotels have recovered, surpassed pre-pandemic revenue
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Economists are feeling good about the outlook for Bryan and College Station, with record-breaking numbers coming from a new report.
The 2023 Economic Indicators report shows hotel revenue is not just recovering from COVID-19 impacts, but has surpassed pre-pandemic indicators.
“We always talk about recovering from COVID, but I think we’ve done it. So I think maybe I should quit saying recovered from covenants to start talking about growth. But what’s going on is our hotel receipts have grown and have grown to be bigger than they were before COVID,” A&M Private Enterprise Research Center Director, Dennis Jansen, said.
Specifically looking at those hotel indicators for the economy, Jansen says it can give a good picture of the whole area.
“When Hotel revenues are high and when hotels are expanding it just tells you that, it’s one indicator that the local economy is doing well,” he said.
Over the past five years, Jansen says the number of hotel beds has remained relatively the same. But, with renovations finishing and new hotels in the works, that could change when they get the report for 2024.
“It’ll be additional competition for existing hotels. I don’t know what they’ll think about that, but they’re they’ll be out there. I mean customers ought to be happy, they have more choices,” he said.
Even though revenue dipped at the end of 2023, Jansen says that’s expected and it’s about to climb again.
“Hotel receipts fall when the University is closed. They really fall over winter break and they also decline in the summer. In the spring, they’re sort of intermediate there, they’re higher than the rest of the year except for the fall. The fall is the king in terms of hotel receipts,” he said.
