Travel Smart

Visit Houston and you'll pay: City hits travelers with one of the biggest tax burdens in the U.S.

A new report by the Global Business Travel Association indicates that Houston is one of the worst offenders in the U.S. in terms of levying high taxes on travelers.

Photo by Jim Olive/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Houston is no cheap date. At least not for tourists or business travelers.

According to a 2013 report from the Global Business Travel Association, taxes levied specifically on travel and related services increased the total tax bill for travelers by 58 percent this year and Houston is one of the worst offenders, ranking 10th in the country for travel fees.

The annual study examined taxes on hotel lodging, car rentals and restaurant meals in the Top 50 U.S. destination cities to show how this taxation is regularly used to fund local projects, most of which are unrelated to tourism or business travel, the GTBA claims.

"Road warriors strengthen the economy, create jobs and drive economic security. Yet governments insist on treating travelers like their ATM."

"Road warriors strengthen the economy, create jobs and drive economic security," GBTA executive director and COO Michael McCormick said in a statement. "Yet governments insist on treating travelers like their ATM.

"These types of punitive travel taxes will ultimately push business travelers to stay home, and we all pay when governments take a short-sighted approach that raises the costs for business travel."

The report found that Chicago levied the highest total tax — which includes general sales taxes and discriminatory travel taxes (those directly aimed at travelers such as taxes levied on car rentals) — at a combined single-day average of $41. New York City followed closely at $38.65 per day.

Minneapolis came in at No. 3 with $36.70 in taxes, followed by Kansas City ($36.61), Indianapolis ($36), Cleveland ($35.41), Boston ($35.32), Seattle ($35.11), Nashville ($34.75) and Houston ($34.16) at No. 10.

Furthermore, McCormick claims that state and local governments aren't the only ones raising these taxes, but that the federal government is in on it, too. "This week, Congress may consider a doubling of the TSA tax," McCormick said. "Instead of driving TSA efficiencies that curb spending, Congress' solution is to double the amount travelers pay."

On the other end of the spectrum, destinations in Florida and California were found to have the lowest numbers for both total travel tax burden and discriminatory travel tax burden. At just $1.58 per day, GBTA's report found that Burbank, California had the lowest discriminatory travel tax rates of any major U.S. city.

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T+L in HOU

Travel + Leisure includes Houston stay on 100 best new hotels list

Photo by Julie Soefer

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Hot on the heels of being named one of Esquire magazine’s best new hotels in the world of 2025, Houston's Hotel Saint Augustine has picked up another accolade. The Montrose property landed on Travel + Leisure’s 100 Best New Hotels of the Year this week. It's the only Texas hotel to make the list.

The magazine noted the property “feels true to the destination and is a perfect addition to Houston's growing hospitality scene,” noting details that pay tribute to Houston’s history, like the Night Heron cocktail named after the city’s official bird and that the hotel itself takes its own name from Augustus Chapman, one of Houston’s founders.

When Austin-based Bunkhouse Hotels opened Saint Augustine back in December of 2024, it was a much-anticipated addition to the Bayou City’s hospitality scene. Adjacent to the world-renowned Menil Collection, the Hotel Saint Augustine blends seamlessly into its surroundings with a quiet elegance and luxury amenities.

“For us, Hotel Saint Augustine offers a chance to become part of a neighborhood that deeply aligns with the Bunkhouse ethos,” Bunkhouse senior VP of design and development Tenaya Hills said when it first opened. “Montrose, and by extension, the Museum District and Houston at large, foster an incredible sense of community, of creativity, of old world and new. We wanted to create a place where everyone could come and feel as welcome and inspired. As the next iteration of our Saint hotels, we aim to provide the same unique feeling of seclusion, of permission to be indulgent, and, most of all, completely at ease.”

With 71 rooms across five, two-story buildings, many with courtyard views, the Saint Augustine has quickly become known for being both upscale and approachable. Reviews thus far on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp call the property “simply stunning,” with a “fun atmosphere,” and “a treasure…in the heart of Houston.”

On the Travel + Leisure list, the hotel is ranked among properties such as the Hotel Hana in Paris, The Lotus Palace in India, and the Palm House in Palm Beach, Florida. Room rates start at $429 per night.