Dear Valued Partners:

I just returned from Destination International’s Annual Meeting where I had the chance to talk with fellow DMO leaders about the trends and successes they are seeing in their own markets. One thing was quite clear – San Antonio is faring better than most cities not just in our comp set but across the country. This is backed up with the latest data.  

Leisure and Meetings Performance  

According to Smith Travel Research, hotel occupancy for June was 68.8%, or just -0.8% down from the same month in 2021 (69.3%). Average daily rate was $134.96, or more than 18.6% ahead of the same month in 2019 ($113.83). Finally, our RevPAR for June was $92.80, which was 11.3% higher than June 2021 ($83.40). 

Year to date, we were at 63.4% occupancy through the end of June, 11.5% ahead of the same period in 2021 (56.9%). Of note, however, is that occupancy is forecasted to reach 66.3% by YE 2022, which gets San Antonio back to 2019 YE levels (66.4%). Our RevPAR showed a positive gain, totaling $82.32 for the year, a hike of more than 5.5% compared to 2019 ($78.01).  

Average Daily Rate (ADR) thru June 2022 is at $129.82 (12.9% increase from June 2019 YTD); it is projected that we will reach $131 in ADR by YE 2022 which will be an increase of 15.8% compared to YE 2019. If actuals track with projections for the rest of the year – and we need YOUR help to do so – San Antonio is on pace to set a record for the highest ADR ever – the previous record was at $115.72 in YE 2018. 

The meetings side of the business continues rebounding better than anticipated. Our short-term strategy is producing for San Antonio. With 252 in-the-year-for-the-year (ITYFTY) bookings, we are on track to exceed 2018 ITYFTY bookings, and we have already exceeded 2019. Our Sales Teams is averaging 200 leads a month – totaling 2,039 YTD through June – and have already exceeded 2018 and 2019 lead volume with 2 months left to go in the fiscal year. 

In addition, our team just secured ACE Hardware’s Annual Spring Convention to take place in just nine short months, March 2023 – 15,000 total attendees and room nights and a $10.5M economic impact for our city! This will be the very 1st time ACE Hardware has met in San Antonio and we are working hard to confirm this prestigious meeting again for all of you in 2025. Thank you for your assistance in making this happen for San Antonio.  

Looking Ahead 

The summer is Visit San Antonio’s strategic planning and budgeting season ahead of our October fiscal year start. We have been working with the Visit San Antonio and TPID Boards of Directors to align on our Fiscal Year 2023 strategic plan which we are eager to share with you at our upcoming Annual Meeting in October. Our team looks forward to continuing the positive momentum we have built over the last year to fuel San Antonio’s economic recovery quicker than anyone forecasted.  

Just last week tickets went on sale to the public for the highly anticipated Tasting Texas Wine + Food Festival, debuting October 27-30. It is going to be a full four days of events with more than 100 chefs. If you have not yet, be sure to check out TastingTexas.com for all the details and to buy your tickets before they sell out.  

The fall is sure to be remarkably busy with great meetings groups and plenty of events across the city. I look forward to seeing you throughout the city as my family and I continue to explore our beautiful community.  

If I can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. 

With warm regards,

Marc Anderson
President & CEO
Visit San Antonio