Fort Worth welcomes 8.8 million visitors annually to its vibrant cultural districts and attractions. A 2015 request for qualifications (RFQ) made clear Fort Worth’s hospitality goals: to get more hotel rooms near the Fort Worth Convention Center. With thousands of rooms on the way, Fort Worth saw a 1.7 percent increase in demand for hotels in 2017, according to CBRE.
Supply and demand basics should be remembered in this case. “The most recent pipeline shows 34 hotels in planning stages representing almost 5,000 rooms, there are 29 hotels in the final planning stages representing 3,640 rooms, and 15 hotels under construction representing 2,328 rooms,” CBRE Hotels Director Jeff Binford says.
As for 2018, it’s all in the positives. Fort Worth revenue per available room (RevPAR) is expected to grow 2.2 percent. Fort Worth market occupancy levels are expected to range from 68.9 to 69.5 percent during the five-year forecast period. “Fort Worth historically has not been a victim of overbuilding, and I don’t see that on the horizon,” Binford says.
As the 16th largest city in the U.S., Fort Worth is bringing several hotels to its growing community. Of the 15 hotels coming to downtown Fort Worth, several are already in the works.
Oldham Goodwin Group is under construction with a Springhill Suites at the Fort Worth Stockyards that will be completed in early 2019. The 170-room hotel will have a first-floor wine bar, covered patio, conference room options, outdoor and rooftop meeting spaces, and pool. The 133,000-square-foot hotel will have a rooftop bar and restaurant by celebrity chef Tim Love. A 180-room Marriott Aloft Hotel in City Place will deliver at 334 W 3rd St. in April 2018. The Aloft hotel with 24 suites will have an indoor pool, fitness center, and business center. Whitestone Hospitality is developing a $40 million Hilton Garden Inn on Jones Street that will deliver in 2019. This 162-room hotel will have meeting space, a golf simulator, restaurant, bar, fitness center, and pool. Jackson-Shaw is developing a 218-room Marriott AC Hotel at 111 W. 5th St. The 16-story Marriott will have a ground floor restaurant, coffee shop, rooftop patio, and indoor pool. And Sinclair Holdings is working on a 165-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel at 512 Main St. in Fort Worth.
Though many traditional chain hotels are in the works, boutique hotels have also gained traction in Fort Worth, Binford says. “Boutique hotels have become popular mainly because of millennials. Millennial travel is experiential. Even old guys like staying [at a boutique hotel] because of the experience,” Binford says.
According to hotel data firm STR, nationwide hotel occupancy stood at 65.7 percent in 2017 and are expected to hover around 65.6 percent in 2018.
