Texas venues and hotels are in high demand. You can drive through most Texas cities and see the boom for yourself. From Amarillo south to Galveston and El Paso east to Houston, new hotels and renovated venues are popping up everywhere you look. Of course, you can also look at the numbers and see just how many new spaces are on the horizon.
Dallas led the nation at the end of the third quarter last year with 194 hotel construction projects, and Austin came in fifth in the country with 119 projects, according to the “Q3 2024 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report” from Lodging Econometrics. Those two cities alone totaled nearly 37,000 new rooms. Both cities had record numbers of active projects, as well as construction set to begin in the following 12 months. The Fort Worth-Arlington area also announced multiple new projects last year.
The continued construction and renovation boom is thanks in large part to the meeting and convention industry’s comeback nationwide. With additional corporate travel funds available and an interest in bleisure travel on the rise, the outlook for business travel in the U.S. is bright, according to the “2024 Economic Impact Trends Report” by the World Travel & Tourism Council. Business travel spending in the U.S. is expected to reach $472 billion when the final numbers come in for last year, which is 13.4% above the previous record high set in 2019.
But the new and revitalized properties are not your grandmother’s venues. “Everyone is over dark, drab meeting rooms and ballrooms,” says planner Sarabeth Quattlebaum, founder of Sarabeth Events in Dallas. “We’re sourcing hotels or properties full of natural light and that have indoor/outdoor capabilities for unique breaks.” When it comes to the construction pipeline, that means innovative design and flexible spaces. Read on to hear about some of the hottest projects in a dozen Texas cities.
Growing & Growing
Last fall, the Panhandle city of Amarillo along Route 66 welcomed the 117-room Hampton Inn & Suites Amarillo West, offering a 960-square-foot meeting space. Additional rooms also are available at the newly opened Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Amarillo West.
The popular destination city of Arlington, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, continued to grow last summer with the 268-room Drury Plaza Hotel Dallas Arlington, which brings an additional 7,000 square feet of meeting space to the entertainment district. The district is anchored by the new 888-room Loews Arlington Hotel & Convention Center, boasting 266,000 square feet of meeting space. About 1 mile away, another Loews property will be built on the site of the current Sheraton Arlington Hotel, which will be demolished
next year. The new 513-room hotel will include 35,000 square feet of meeting space and is expected to be complete in 2028.
Valencia Hotel Group is slated to finish its eighth Texas property next year along Arlington’s historic Division Street with the Caravan Court hotel, featuring 152 rooms and suites, as well as 5,000 square feet of meeting space.
Over in Austin, construction of the $1.6 billion Austin Convention Center expansion project began in April, with the center closing for the next four years. In the meantime, the capital city’s hotel scene has risen to meet the needs of planners. White Lodging breaks ground this year on the 258-room Trinity Hotel, Autograph Collection, which will feature 6,000 square feet of meeting space. Next year, the 27-story Waterloo Park Hotel will open adjacent to Waterloo Park and Moody Amphitheater with 382 rooms, a ballroom, and rooftop pool deck on the 26th floor.
The 367-room Downright Austin, A Renaissance Hotel, has some 31,000 square feet of meeting space near the Texas Capitol, and the 251-room W Austin, with 10,500 square feet of meeting space near Austin City Limits Live, completed its renovations in January. The Hyatt Regency Austin begins a $50 million renovation of the entire property this spring, and the JW Marriott Austin will begin a $30 million update to meeting spaces and guest rooms early this year. Near The University of Texas at Austin, the $30 million renovation of AT&T Hotel and Conference Center’s 85,000 square feet of meeting space will be complete later this year.
The Metroplex
One of the most notable projects in Dallas is the $3 million expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, which is currently underway and set to be complete by 2029. Meanwhile, Dallas’ robust construction pipeline includes notable openings this year like the 220-room InterContinental Dallas, taking over eight floors in the redesigned Cityplace Tower in Uptown and offering 21,000 square feet of meeting space. Next year, a dual-branded 19-story property combining a 110-room AC Hotel and the 154-room Moxy Dallas Uptown opens in the neighborhood. The Knox, Auberge Resorts Collection, also opens next year in the Knox Street district and will offer 140 rooms and suites, as well as both indoor and outdoor luxury event spaces. In 2027, Four Seasons Turtle Creek, a $750 million project, will open with 240 rooms.
With a completion date next year, the $701 million Fort Worth Convention Center expansion will add 195,000 square feet of event space to the area. The Omni Fort Worth Hotel, located across from the convention center, is also expanding to a total of 1,018 rooms and adding another 50,000 square feet of meeting space.
Le Méridien Fort Worth Downtown opened last fall with 188 guest rooms and 5,000 square feet of meeting space designed with European flair. “Market research is anticipating meetings and event opportunities to be strong with the development in Fort Worth,” says Dawn Freeman, director of sales and marketing at Dallas-based Remington Hospitality on behalf of Le Méridien Fort Worth Downtown. “Our property and other new venues will help give the city room inventory numbers to compete on a larger scale, securing even larger programs and events to drive the hotel and tourism economy.”
Up in Frisco, the 224-room Hall Park Hotel, Autograph Collection, opened last year. “With two gorgeous ballrooms, flexible meeting spaces, and nearly 10,000 additional square feet of outdoor event space, all located on the same floor, the hotel provides a variety of solutions for both singular events and a full schedule of activities,” says Nicole Xie, director of sales and marketing at the hotel.
Also opening this year in Frisco, The Bays Golf Lab & Suites will sit on 18 acres off PGA Parkway and feature a four-story, 100,000-square-foot golf lab along with 21 boutique hotel suites, each equipped with private hitting bays on the balconies. Opening next year, Firefly Park is a 217-acre mixed-use development that will eventually provide 1,200 hotel rooms, including 200 rooms at the Dream Frisco hotel, also slated to open next year.
In addition, Irving is making a splash with new hotels. “Irving packs a lot of punch into a small footprint that combines a wide range of accommodations with a stunning convention center and an electric entertainment district, all within the master-planned community of
Las Colinas,” says Lori Sirmen, communications manager at the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau.
New hotels in the area include the 155-room Hotel Indigo Irving Las Colinas, An IHG Hotel, with 5,400 square feet of meeting space, and Embassy Suites by Hilton Irving Las Colinas, with 168 guest rooms and 3,700 square feet of meeting space. Opened in February, Aloft DFW Airport North offers 5,325 square feet of meeting space.
Last fall, McKinney had multiple hotel projects underway at some stage, so planners need not worry about a lack of options. The 102-room Denizen McKinney Hotel has opened in District 121, a mixed-use entertainment area. Set to open this spring and summer respectively are the 84-room Tru by Hilton McKinney and the AC Hotel by Marriott, Autograph Collection, will offer access to TPC Craig Ranch golf course and 36,000 square feet of meeting space.
By the Gulf
Margaritaville Beach Resort Galveston will open next year, bringing 334 rooms across the 300,000-square-foot property that will include bars, restaurants, and a 350-foot lazy river. “Destination appeal is a key benefit for meeting planners and attendees,” says Bryan Kunz, director of sales and services at Visit Galveston. “Planners often see higher attendance when in Galveston due to overall destination appeal, strong partnerships with Visit Galveston and island tourism partners, the variety of unique meeting spaces and lodging offerings, the quality of food and beverage in meeting venues, and the versatility of our properties that can accommodate any level of service.”
In Houston’s Montrose Museum District, the 71-room boutique Hotel Saint Augustine opened last December. The tranquil property by Bunkhouse Hotels includes five small buildings connected by open-air bridges. Another Bunkhouse property, the 47-room Hotel Daphne, is slated to open next year in historic Houston Heights.
The George R. Brown Convention Center will begin a $2 billion construction project to be completed in 2028, and the center will remain open during the renovations. Elsewhere downtown, the dual-branded Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites Houston–Galleria Area is set to open this fall with 275 rooms and a grocery store within walking distance of the convention center. Both the 122-room Hotel Granduca and the 224-room Moran CityCentre hotel have undergone extensive renovations. The 105-room Birdsall, Auberge Resorts Collection, will open in River Oaks in 2027.
Hubs for Culture & History
Located in the Permian Basin and known as a longtime oil town, Midland is welcoming a few new properties to its lodging menu. Plans are in the works for the 135-room Omni Midland Hotel, which will offer 15,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 7,000-
square-foot ballroom. Two four-star properties also are being planned for the downtown: the 85-room Tapestry Hotel Midland and the 135-room Hotel Santa Rita, the latter of which will feature an 8,000-square-foot ballroom and four additional meeting rooms.
Rich in culture and year-round events, San Antonio is an appealing destination for attendees. “Visitors can experience our world-class museums, feel the energy at our many attractions, enjoy the incredible restaurants, and step back in time in places that have shaped our beautiful city,” says Mario Bass, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Visit San Antonio.
New hotels include the 347-room Kimpton Santo featuring 13,000 square feet of event space with a historic atmosphere, and the InterContinental San Antonio Riverwalk, An IHG Hotel, with 390 rooms and 18,000 square feet of meeting space alongside spectacular views from the 21-story building. Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection, and Sol Cypress, San Antonio, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, both completed renovations earlier this year. The historic 312-room Gunter Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk has begun a $50 million renovation to guest rooms and its 25,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
The 200-room Monarch San Antonio, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton portfolio, is coming to the downtown area next year and will bring 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Adjacent to Morgan’s Wonderland accessible theme park, Morgan’s Hotel also will open in 2026 for travelers with disabilities, going beyond the standard requirements outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act and offering amenities such as wider hallways and larger guest rooms to accommodate all ages and capacities.
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