Discover Odessa reports rising economic impact amid mixed hotel night trends
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
Discover Odessa reported a large year‑over‑year increase in the city’s economic impact driven by higher attendee counts and pricier hotel stays, while tracked hotel nights for the quarter dipped slightly; the office highlighted a five‑day USA Track & Field meet as a major driver.
Laura March, director of Discover Odessa, told the City Council workshop on Nov. 11 that the city’s tourism office saw a substantial increase in measured economic impact from 2024 to 2025 driven by higher attendance at several large events.
"For September 2024 the ADR was $95.97. For September [2025] it's $107.99," March said, referring to the average daily rate for local hotels. She said that while tracked hotel nights for the quarter were down slightly, total attendees rose and that the economic‑impact measure captures visitor spending across the city — not just overnight stays.
March put particular emphasis on two major events that boosted results: a five‑day USA Track & Field competition that drew about 3,000 attendees (roughly 90 from out of town) and the Permian Basin Fair & Expo, which she said produced higher attendance and overnight stays than in prior years. "A visitor who stays for multiple days obviously spends more money," she said.
The presentation also highlighted steady growth in digital engagement: calendar and “things to do” pages remained among the site’s top three visited pages for the quarter, and social followers and website users continued to climb. March credited her marketing staff, including Ashley Flores, for expanded content and targeted placements in print and digital outlets such as Texas Highways and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
Council members asked about short‑term rental (STR) tracking and coordination with city communications. March said Discover Odessa has met with vendor Granicus about STR tools and expects movement soon; she added that she coordinates with city communications staff to share visitor‑facing events on the city calendar.
The tourism director said the office fully expended the sports event recruitment dollars provided by council in the past year and aims to continue support for sporting events that bring multi‑day stays. March closed by offering to provide further detail from the packet to any council member who requested it.
The council did not take formal action on the report; March’s presentation was informational and concluded with a brief question‑and‑answer exchange.