Dallas (WBAP/KLIF News) – Three markets in Texas are among the five fastest growing for new hotels. The study by the industry group, STR, shows Dallas-Fort Worth is expected to add more than 5,700 rooms this year, second only to New York City, with 11,149.
Developers plan to open 48 hotels this year in DFW, also ranking second to New York. Houston is third with 33 hotels and Austin is fourth, at 30.
“It’s not really surprising to see that,” says Bobby Bowers, a senior vice president at STR. “If they see a good opportunity, that’s what drives development.”
While three markets in Texas are among the fastest growing, Bowers says the drop in oil prices could hit demand in Houston. Houston, he says, is a market more focused on business travel than a city like Austin.
“Houston is the one that is really hit the hardest,” he says. “Longer-term, though, it’s a very good market.”
In Dallas-Fort Worth, Bowers says a diverse economy will drive growth in different areas. The Fort Worth Stockyards and Arlington may draw leisure travelers, while he says a city like Frisco may attract hotels because of corporate campuses.
“All of the entities here have really focused on making Frisco sustainable for the long term,” says Frisco Chamber of Commerce President Tony Felker.
Felker says the city has worked to balance its commercial and residential tax base. He says Frisco has also worked to broaden its commercial interests.
When T-Mobile moved its corporate offices to Frisco, Felker says the company brought 1,000 jobs. He says he made a comparison: if each of the chamber’s 1,000 members added one job, the city’s economy would become more diverse.
“That’s going to be much more sustainable in the long term,” he says. “We all know it’s small business that drives the economy, and this is evidence of that same argument.”
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