San Antonio Business Journal: Hotel revenue in downtown San Antonio declines as industry navigates period of stagnation

The San Antonio Business Journal is out with a new feature reporting on the stagnation of the San Antonio hospitality sector in early 2025. In the article, Hotel revenue in downtown San Antonio declines as industry navigates period of stagnation, journalist Scott Bailey relies on Source Strategies data to put one of the city’s most critical industries into context, noting that “Economic and political uncertainty have contributed to a substantial drop in room nights sold post-pandemic.”

While San Antonio’s visitor and tourist business has stagnated in the last several years, new hotels are still entering the market:

As developers and investors eye more hotel development opportunities in the heart of San Antonio, owners and operators of established properties find themselves in an endless loop, wondering if business will ever return to pre-pandemic levels.

Five years after the outbreak of Covid-19 it has not, and the latest data suggests a full recovery isn’t likely anytime soon.

After cataloging the moribund statistics for San Antonio’s lodging sector, the article follows with a quote form Source Strategies’ Director of Data Operations:

“Not the best news,” Source Strategies’ Paul Vaughn said regarding the latest data. “Slow demand post-pandemic combined with market uncertainty makes for a depressed hospitality market in the San Antonio area.”

The Business Journal quotes the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s latest state of the industry report that the industry is “navigating a period of stagnation.” and follows with additional commentary form Source’s Vaughn:

“We continue to believe that discouraging tourism from Mexico and other countries is bad for San Antonio’s hospitality sector,” Vaughn said.

Bailey closes with color from Visit San Antonio and the San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association:

“Everybody is watching the economy and the market and how people are spending.” San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Michelle Madson said. “Nobody has answers right now.”

Read the full article, Hotel revenue in downtown San Antonio declines as industry navigates period of stagnation, on the San Antonio Business Journal website.