Houston's hotel industry is starting to see a slight uptick in business.
Some hotels in the area have fared better than others in 2020. Galveston did better over the summer, and hotels around the Texas Medical Center have seen steady business even amid the pandemic. However, there's one problem holding the local industry back.
“We’re not seeing the group business that we would have seen through conventions, and a lot of companies are not doing travel. For example: downtown Houston. The commercial occupancy is significantly down,” Industry expert and University of Houston Professor Arlene Ramirez told KTRH.
Ramirez is not expecting our hotel market to fully recover until 2024. Overall occupancy in all Houston area hotels is forecasted to be down 20 percent year over year.