Hoteliers Heed Need in Airport-South Austin Submarket

AUSTIN-With the first round of hotels under construction around and near AustinBergstrom International Airport, investors likely will take a step back and see the results of a wave of new construction, say hotel consultants.

Austin and the Airport-South Austin markets have maintained particularly strong numbers over the last two years, says senior consultant Lori Napier of PKF Consulting. The most recent occupancy figures show an overall Austin occupancy of 74% in the last quarter and 78% in the airport-south Austin submarket. That area leads the city, although the downtown submarket is just slightly under 78%.

Those are strong numbers, and especially strong numbers because of the lack of retail space and amenities around the new airport site, Napier tells GlobeSt.com. “When the airport moved, there was a lot of concern because the closest hotels near the old airport were the ones around Highland Mall,” Napier explains. “They had the mall. They had restaurants. Down south, people were saying to themselves, ‘What’s going to happen in this market?’ And, of course, we’ve seen construction happen.”