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Houston First Corporation, a Houston-area nonprofit organization says the Sept. 23 and 24 shows boosted tourism and hotel occupancy. Beyoncé made the stop in her hometown during her first solo tour in over six years. The Bey-Hive swarmed to NRG Stadium to pack seats. A homecoming party was hosted by Houston First when bright lights and fireworks made way for the queen and her cohort of super fans.

“Major events in our city mean major opportunities for our hospitality industry. The two mega concert events this year, first with Taylor Swift and most recently with Beyonce, proved that star power helps fill hotels,” said Michael Heckman, President and CEO of Houston First Corporation.

Highlights of the Renaissance Tour according to the organization:

  1. The overall Houston hotel market saw occupancy of 67.5% for the two nights (Saturday and Sunday) of the tour. Revenue for the weekend hit $18.2 million, up more than 45% compared to the same weekend in 2022.
  2. Hotels in the Medical Center/NRG submarket logged occupancy of 81.3% for the two nights of the tour (occupancy on Saturday led Sunday by 10 points). Revenues in that submarket hit $2.5 million, an increase of 182% over the comparable weekend in 2022. The average daily rate in the submarket on Saturday was $241—one of the highest nightly rates this year.
  3. Location data analyzed by Houston First shows that more than 52% of the visitors to NRG Park during the weekend were from outside the Houston area and more than 66% of out-of-town visitors stayed overnight.
  4. San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and Beaumont were the leading origin markets for out-of-town concertgoers, according to the data from Near, a location-based intelligence platform.
  5. The average daily rate in the hotel market on Beyoncé’s first-night run was $241, one of the highest rates this year, according to the organization.

And the economic impact isn’t over yet. Her concert film of the Renaissance tour premieres Dec. 1, with tickets starting at $22 plus tax. It will be released by AMC Theatres, which saw record ticket sales earlier in October ahead of the release of Taylor Swift’s concert film. The movie distributor seems to have high hopes for Beyoncé’s concert film, saying more than 2.7 million fans showed up for the tour and now millions of moviegoers will want to join in on the dance party.

I’m a Houstonian (by way of Smackover, Arkansas). My most important job is being a wife to my amazing husband, mother to my three children, and daughter to my loving mother. I am the National Bestselling...