How Soaring U.S. Hotel Rates Are Making Dallas a Luxury Travel Hot Spot
In the last year, the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area has welcomed both leading names in luxury hospitality and boutique brands to the sprawling metropolis. The Omni PGA Frisco Resort opened in May 2023. Hôtel Swexan debuted in June 2023. The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas completed its $55 million renovation and rebrand in January of this year.
“The city’s growing population and strong job market have fueled demand for housing, making it an attractive destination for real estate investors, homebuyers, and tourism,” says Jeff Smith, vice president and managing director of Omni PGA Frisco Resort. Dallas is now one of the fastest growing cities in America.
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Around 80 Dallas-area hotels, totaling 9,021 new rooms, were scheduled to break ground over the next 12 months, the Dallas Morning News reported last October.
Why? The answer is simple, says Louis Dorfman, chef concierge at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas: “The Dallas hospitality dollar, compared to other major cities, goes further.”
“When considering luxury accommodations and amenities, hotel room rates, and food and beverage prices are typically lower than other major U.S. Markets,” adds John Goff, chairman of Fort Worth-based Crescent Real Estate.
According to a 2023 comparison of average hotel rates across 50 cities in the United States, specifying a minimum of three-star accommodations, Dallas averaged $186 per night versus the top three most expensive nightly averages in Boston ($303), NYC ($288), and Austin ($257). But in the luxury sector, Dallas offers an even more tantalizing value proposition: At the Ritz-Carlton Dallas, doubles start at $349, compared to $795 a night at the Ritz-Carlton Boston or $825 at the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad.
“The combination of a lower cost of living, a strong job market and an opportunistic ecommerce environment has made Dallas an attractive destination for both businesses and individuals alike,” says Dorfman.
Though 2023 and 2024 are defining Dallas’s modern hospitality boom, Goff explained that the foundations for the boom were laid 20 years ago. In the early 2000s, Goff’s company developed the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, which he credits as “one of the key catalysts that proved demand for luxury products in Dallas.”
“Hotel rates prior to the early 2000s were not high enough to justify building new luxury products,” Goff adds. “We saw an incredible opportunity to develop the Ritz Carlton given the lack of luxury supply and burgeoning demand as Dallas continued to grow.”
When the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas opened in 2007, Goff said his company’s thesis was a success as the hotel “ultimately achieved rates beyond anything the Dallas market had previously seen, providing other developers conviction to build more luxury products.”
Recently, Goff recognized another chance to influence the luxury market outside Dallas proper, with sights on Fort Worth. In late 2023, he opened the Crescent Fort Worth, a four-star hotel in the heart of the Cultural District.
“Fort Worth, today, reminds me very much of Dallas a couple decades ago . . . [it] has historically lacked elevated luxury hotel offerings and I knew that we needed to change that,” says Goff, noting that Fort Worth is the fastest growing “big city” in the country, with just under one million people, and is now the 13th largest city in the United States.
With its central locale and home to the second busiest airport in the United States—Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)—the Dallas-Fort Worth area is also garnering traction as a business destination.
“We’ve seen an influx of residents and businesses from other states, like California, relocate to Dallas because of its favorable business climate and lower taxes,” Greg Dickhens, managing partner at Trinity Investments, says. “As such, there has been a greater demand for business and group travel and this audience is looking for more bespoke and luxury experiences.”
In terms of bespoke experiences, Hôtel Swexan stands out from corporate brands as the 134-room, family-owned property infuses European charm with Texas hospitality in the Harwood District. The 19-city block was originally planned over 30 years ago by Harwood International, whose Swiss founder and chairman wanted to bring international influence and walkability to Dallas. The second generation of the company, the property’s general manager Julian Payne explains, “saw a need for a high-end boutique hotel that Dallas hasn’t experienced before.”
As real estate infrastructure continues to meet demands of niche travel, Payne points out that in addition to general business travel, Sports Business Journal ranked Dallas as the number one region in the country to conduct sports business in 2023. (Hôtel Swexan is steps from the American Airlines Center, Dallas area’s premier arena, which is home to the NHL’s Dallas Stars and NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.)
Not to mention, Frisco, where Omni PGA Frisco Resort debuted in 2023, is monikered as “Sports City USA,” home to the Dallas Cowboys and its Star headquarters, the FC Dallas soccer team at Toyota Stadium, the National Soccer Hall of Fame with the Women’s U.S. World Cup trophies, and Frisco Rough Riders Minor League Baseball Team.
Now, the area is also home to “the cutting-edge home of American golf,” says Smith, noting that Omni PGA Frisco Resort opened in partnership with PGA of America, which also opened its new $33.5 million headquarters here in 2023. The 660-acre resort includes two championship golf courses as well as a casual 10-hole short course (the Swing), two-acre putting green (the Dance Floor), a lounge by Topgolf, and a PGA of America Coaching Center.
“It’s a one stop shop for leisure or business,” says Smith.
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