Valley hotel demand surges 10.6%, pushing receipts past $107M in Q1

The value of hotel room receipts grew by 10.6% over the year across the Rio Grande Valley between January and March, totaling $107.3 million, according to hotel occupancy tax data on file with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 

South Padre Island, which has long led the local hotel market as a popular destination for overnight stays, saw an 8.8% increase over the year in the first quarter to $40.1 million. 

Short-term rental giant Airbnb saw the biggest share of the island’s overnight stays, totaling $5.6 million in 2026, up from $4.5 million in 2025 during the same time frame. 

Homeaway, otherwise known as Vrbo, was the third largest on the island for overnight stays when ranked by receipts, with $2.1 million during the first quarter, up from $1.8 million the year before. Vacasa Inc., another international short-term rental company, also had a strong presence on the island at No. 11 with $964,382 in receipts this year. 

The Courtyard by Marriott on South Padre Island was the most popular hotel on the island, bringing in $2.3 million in room receipts, up from $1.9 million one year before. 

That hotel is owned and operated by Modern Resort Lodging LLC, a company affiliated with Ruby Red Hospitality, which is controlled by McAllen-based hotelier Barry Patel. 

Ruby Red Hospitality controls several other popular hotels on the list, including the Hilton Garden Inn on South Padre Island, La Copa Inn Resort, La Quinta Inn & Suites on South Padre Island, Embassy Suites by Hilton in McAllen, Aloft by Marriott, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Sapphire on South Padre Island. The company also operates Airbnb rentals on South Padre Island. 

Embassy Suites in McAllen had the second-largest room-receipt total in the city at $2.39 million through March 2026, up from $2.32 million in 2025 — a 2.7% increase. 

Margaritaville Beach Resort ranked as the second most popular lodging spot on South Padre Island. The resort is owned by Key Foster, CEO of Highline Real Estate Partners, based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Margaritaville Beach Resort saw a smaller increase to $1.88 million, up from $1.84 million over the year. 

Other high-performing properties on the island include Isla Grand Beach Resort, which is owned and operated by SPI Management Co. The company’s president is South Padre Island attorney Kathy Cunningham. Isla Grand Beach Resort collected $1.6 million in room receipts, up from $1.3 million in 2025 during the first quarter. 

Holiday Inn Beach Resort is owned by Innjoy Hospitality LLC, run by Nitin Kasan of McAllen-based Oceangate Hotel and Development Company. Holiday Inn Beach Resort saw $1.15 million in hotel receipts, down from $1.17 million in 2025. 

Padre Island Rentals is owned by Robert M. Goodman Associates Inc., led by President Thomas W. Goodman II, who also serves as a commissioner for the city of San Benito. Padre Island Rentals saw $1.76 million, up from $1.65 million over the year in room receipts. 

McAllen is the second-largest hotel market in the Rio Grande Valley. It saw a 1.2% increase over the year to $24.6 million in receipts through March. 

In McAllen, the DoubleTree Hotel had the largest room receipts in the city, at $2.56 million in the first quarter, up 2.2% year over year. 

The DoubleTree Hotel is owned by Calmac Suites Ltd., a shell company for McAllen GA Inc. The entity is co-operated by Gregory Greenstein, Jodie Fishman, and Joseph Amoros, all based in California.

Mission grew by less than 1% to $3 million in receipts, while Edinburg declined by 6.5% to $3.4 million. 

The most popular hotel in Mission was The Bungalows on Shary inside Sharyland Plantation, which had $768,738 through March, down from $781,468 last year — a 1.6% decrease.  

In 2026, the most popular hotel in Edinburg was the Holiday Inn Express with $690,048, up from $643,899 — an increase of 7.1%. But the Marriott Townplace Suites in Edinburg, which booked $742,482 in 2025, dropped to $539,426 in 2026, according to the data. 

Brownsville grew its hotel receipts by nearly 28% in one year, to $13.9 million, and there are plans for several new hotels in the city. Harlingen saw a 15.7% increase over the year to $8.3 million. 

The leading hotel in Brownsville was the Hampton Inn and Suites, with $2.9 million in room receipts in 2026, up from $790,632 in 2025 — an increase of more than 260% in just one year. 

In Harlingen, the Hilton Garden Inn was the most popular hotel with $1.4 million in room receipts through March, up from $1.25 million in 2025 — a 14.4% jump.