Seven World Cup matches took place in my backyard of Houston, and while I didn't attend any of the games, I sat front row waiting to feel the impact of the influx of fans into my hometown.
If I'm being honest, the excitement around the games themselves missed me almost completely. This is mostly a testament to just how vast Houston really is (as well as my own aversion to most sports — with Formula 1 being the exception). Even though I live and work pretty centrally, I can't actually point to a time when I noticed any physical impact boiling over from the festivities in East Downtown and central south sides of town.
But just because I didn't feel a surge of traffic or insane wait times at my favorite restaurants doesn't mean the World Cup games didn't make an impact on Houston's hospitality and tourism scene. The official hotel performance numbers are forthcoming, but the anecdotal experiences from local businesses are encouraging — especially since the early booking numbers weren't.
In early May, the American Hotel and Lodging Association released a report that around 70% of hotels surveyed in Houston and Dallas said their booking pace for the World Cup was under their expectations, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Texas markets weren't alone in that experience, according to the article.
My colleagues have reported plenty on how the matches would be an event where hoteliers push average daily rate, rather than seeing major occupancy increases. In Houston, that definitely seemed to be the case based on the early data. At the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International's Commercial Strategy Conference in June, a presentation I attended pointed to Houston as a market with an extensive amount of hotel inventory, so the World Cup didn't result in compression that would drive occupancy increases.
I think what we'll see once the data comes in is that Houston hotel performance met expectations from a numbers perspective. But beyond the quantifiable hotel performance numbers, I feel a sense of excitement following the successful hosting journey Houston went on. I've exclusively heard positive feedback about Houston's matches — from the facilities of the stadium to the behavior of the fans.
On June 20, more than 25,000 fans clad in orange — or should I say "Oranje" — walked from Rice University to Houston Stadium. Everyone should be reminded that walking anywhere in Houston's June heat and humidity is a sport in itself. The many photos and videos of The Netherlands’ Oranje Fanwalk flooded my social media feeds and left me feeling proud — and, again, impressed at these fans' dedication. The event also encouraged similar walks by fans from Portugal, Uzbekistan and Brazil at subsequent games.
I know Houston's moment in the spotlight can only benefit the city, which is good since there was a lot of preparation put into the city ahead of the tournament. The city of Houston and its nearby partners invested in nearly half a billion dollars across 200 projects, said the Greater Houston Partnership. Those projects included 400 miles of resurfaced streets, $84 million in sidewalk and pathway improvements, $15 million toward neighborhood parks, $29 million in street lighting and more. This level of investment, while spurred by the tournament, stands to benefit residents more than visitors.
Even though the sport itself didn't pique my interest this time around, I walked away from this year's tournament grateful for all the excitement and positivity that came with Houston's hosting. I'm a huge fan of my hometown — made clear as I participated in the GHP's "Welcome to Houston" campaign launched ahead of the matches, which includes a series of videos starring real Houstonians, myself included. So, any chance for Houston to show up in a positive way internationally is a huge win in my book.
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