The hospitality industry had a rough year through the pandemic. The Star-Telegram reported that local hotel occupancy was 68.9% in the third quarter of 2019, before dropping to 44.7% a year later.
Recently the occupancy has been reported at 62.5% for the third quarter of 2021. It’s safe to say Fort Worth hotels are on the path to a comeback.
Not only did the occupancy rate increase, but the revenues for Fort Worth-Arlington hotels surpassed their number before the pandemic by 6.7%. That number is also slightly higher than the rebound numbers statewide.
Today, Texas hotel numbers are higher than two years ago by 5.9%. Dallas hotel revenue numbers are still behind third quarter 2019 levels by 8.1%.
Fort Worth city government made it a priority to help in this area through the CARES Act. “They have provided us at several points in time with additional funding to make up for what was not being generated,” said Bob Jameson, who is the CEO of Visit Fort Worth. “That has helped us be able to promote the city as open for business.”
Fort Worth-Arlington has added 4,800 new hotel rooms in the last two years to help bring in lost business, along with the recent addition of boutique hotels like Hotel Dryce, which opened near the Cultural District in August.
“These unique new offerings satiate travelers’ desire for an experience,” said Jameson. “Travelers are seeking hotels with personality or a story, so every one of these hotels that open and is part of Fort Worth hotel inventory just enriches that diversity of experience.”
Dickies Arena is a 5-minute walk from Hotel Dryce, so the hotel sees considerable increases with arena events. Even though local occupancy levels are currently at 62.5%, they still aren’t back to pre-pandemic numbers.
