Comparing the Austin and San Antonio, Texas Hotel Markets

Two Business Journal articles offer competing perspectives on the difference between two key barometers of Texas Hotel Markets, hotel market performance in San Antonio and Austin. Naturally, both publications site Source Strategies, the leader in Texas hospitality consulting, for their figures.

The San Antonio Business Journal notes how the city’s industry is lagging behind Austin with the article “Here’s how Austin has taken the lead over SA in a heated hotel race” by W. Scott Bailey:

If San Antonio hotel operators have a wish this holiday season they would like to see come true, it’s more heads in beds and more revenue from each guest that books a room. That’s the logical takeaway from a new industry report, which shows San Antonio lagging Austin in an industry critical to the Alamo City economy.

That new Hotel Brand Report from San Antonio-based consulting firm Source Strategies Inc. include some telling data. One of the more compelling nuggets is the discrepancy in hotel revenue between the two Texas cities that bookend a burgeoning I-35 corridor.

Year to date through Sept. 30, Austin metro area hotels have generated more than $983.9 million in revenue. That’s nearly $50 million more than San Antonio metro area hotels collected over the same period.

Bailey notes that San Antonio has added more supply which has driven down occupancy rates. He asked Source Strategies’ chairman Bruce Walker what can be done to boost the city’s hotel industry:

His response: “Spend enough advertising money to increase significantly the number of visitors to San Antonio.”

The Austin Business Journal‘s Will Anderson notes how the Travaasa and W Hotels are driving Austin’s market in the article “Premier hotels boost Austin’s standing ahead of San Antonio in Texas hospitality race“:

Look no further than a report released Thursday by San Antonio-based consulting firm Source Strategies Inc. Through Sept. 30, Austin-area hotels generated more than $983.9 million in revenue, $50 million more than San Antonio-area hotels.

The Source Strategies Hotel Brand Report is published quarterly and is an indispensable tool for understanding the hospitality industry in Texas and Texas Hotel Markets.