Pop Stars Rock Houston’s Travel And Hospitality Sectors As Cash Rolls In
When Beyoncé visited her hometown of Houston last month, so did thousands of others, significantly boosting local hotel occupancy and daily rates while keeping cash registers humming across the city.
Hotels in the Medical Center/NRG Park submarket logged an occupancy of 81.3% on Sept. 23 and 24, the two nights that Beyoncé performed her Renaissance World Tour at the stadium, according to a new report from Houston First Corp. This is up 20% from the 61.3% occupancy Houston hotels averaged the first eight months of the year.
Revenues in the submarket hit $2.5M, a 182% increase from the comparable weekend in 2022, according to Houston First data. The average daily rate in the submarket was $241, which is one of the highest nightly rates of the year. In August, Houston’s average daily rate was $108.
Beyoncé performed two sold-out shows at NRG Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 72,000. Houston First said that more than 52% of visitors to NRG Park during the weekend were from outside of the Houston area, and more than 66% of the out-of-towners stayed overnight.
When Taylor Swift performed three sold-out shows of The Eras Tour at NRG Stadium on April 21-23, the Medical Center/NRG Park submarket saw 93.8% occupancy and a $223 average daily rate, Houston First reported. That weekend also had the First Robotics Competition happening at the George R. Brown Convention Center Downtown, which brought 48,000 kids and their parents to the city, according to Houston First.
The entire Houston hotel market for that weekend ran at almost 87% occupancy, which is higher than when Houston hosted the NCAA Final Four three weeks earlier, Houston First said.
During the weekend of Beyoncé’s tour, Houston’s overall hotel market saw an occupancy of 67.5% and revenue of $18.2M, up 45% from the comparable weekend in 2022.
Beyoncé was born in Houston in 1981.
"No matter where I go, I always keep Houston with me. I will always rep for Houston," Beyoncé said at one of her Houston concerts, according to the Houston Chronicle. "I can travel to any country around the world. But you ain't ever gonna take the country out of this girl. I represent y'all everywhere I go, and I want to make you proud."
Swift said during a Houston show that Houston is where her mother graduated from college and where her parents got married in 1989.
Swift and Beyoncé are both credited with boosting the U.S. economy with their tours this year. Each is estimated to top $1B in sales for local economies, The New York Times reported.
Survey company QuestionPro estimated that Swift’s concert could generate $4.6B in economic activity in North America, which would be roughly on par with the revenues the Beijing Olympics generated in 2008, adjusted for inflation. Beyoncé’s shows are expected to spur another $4.5B in spending, according to a separate QuestionPro survey, the NYT reported.
