HOUSTON -- At the Marriott Marquis Houston's Altitude pool deck, which features a lazy river in the shape of Texas, guests were glued to strategically placed television screens so that everyone could have a view of the NCAA women's championship basketball game.
Meanwhile, across the street, on the Discovery Green park, people were rocking out to country star Mickey Guyton at the March Madness Music Festival, with Keith Urban and Tim McGraw on the way. Basketball fans were heading into the Fan Fest at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in anticipation of the final matchup on the men's side the next day.
People outside the Men’s Final Four Fan Fest at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
Sports-related travel's direct economic impact was $39 billion in 2021 and generated 66.5 million room nights, according to Matt Traub, the managing editor for SportsTravel Magazine. "It's huge," he said during a Folo by Travel Weekly podcast about sports-related travel.
And sports-related events and sports travel are big business for convention cities like Houston (and Dallas, where the women held court over the weekend). Traub said that the NCAA requires Final Four host cities to have at least 10,000 hotel rooms and a stadium seating capacity of at least 70,000, which limits the pool of potential hosts.
Houston First, the city's destination marketing organization, said that it was projecting 90% occupancy in downtown Houston hotels for the Final Four weekend. Economic impact and official occupancy figures were not yet available, but a spokeswoman said that when the city last hosted the tournament, in 2016, it reportedly generated a $250 million impact from people who attended the games -- not including those watching from bars, restaurants, hotels and other venues.
"Houston has a long track record of successfully hosting major sporting events, from Super Bowl LI in 2017 to this year's NCAA Final Four," Houston First CEO Michael Heckman said in a statement. "Each of these represents an opportunity to showcase our city on the national stage. In recent days, we've seen our dynamic food scene, our diverse cultural landscape and much more that makes Houston special highlighted in the national press. That kind of exposure brings tremendous attention to Houston as a destination and pays off in the form of new convention bookings and leisure tourism."
Guests of the Marriott Marquis Houston gather around big-scene TVs for a watch party of the women’s championship game. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
Houston First produced a four-page dossier of all the events taking place around the city to promote and hype the event. The three-day March Madness Music Festival on Discovery Green was headlined by McGraw, Lil Nas X and Megan Thee Stallion. At the NRG Stadium, Nissan sponsored a three-day Tip-off Tailgate. Evenings were punctuated by fireworks off the convention center roof. And other brand "activations" were taking place throughout the city.
Among those was Marriott, which is in its seventh year as the official hotel partner of the NCAA. Hotels close to downtown Houston and the stadium sported signage, official merchandise stands and other nods to the big games: The entire wall behind the check-in desk at the Marquis had been transformed into a giant men's tourney bracket. The JW Marriott in downtown Houston, meanwhile, was the host of the San Diego State Aztecs team, and the hotel was appropriately wrapped in red and black signage.
Marriott Bonvoy members were able to bid for a Moments package that included a backstage tour and on-court time at NRG Stadium. Photo Credit: Rebecca Tobin
Marriott also used its Bonvoy Moments platform to get some of its most frequent travelers to the games. Members were able to bid their Bonvoy points for a package that included suite access for both semifinal and the championship games, a four-night stay at the Marquis, a back-of-house venue tour of the stadium -- including time on the court to shoot hoops and take photos with the trophy -- an invitation to a breakfast with Yale University coach James Jones and VIP access to the watch party at the hotel pool.
Julius Robinson, Marriott International's chief sales and marketing officer for the U.S. and Canada, said the company was "beyond excited" to continue its NCAA partnership. "Travel and sports are both about connecting people and creating lasting memories," he said.