Houston Hotel Occupancy Tax And Revenue Bond Rating Raised To 'A' From 'A-' On Application Of Criteria

DALLAS (S&P Global Ratings) March 26, 2019--S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on Houston's Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department hotel occupancy tax (HOT) and special revenue bonds to 'A' from 'A-'. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A' rating to the city's series 2019 HOT and special revenue and refunding bonds. The outlook is stable. The upgrade reflects the application of our "Priority-Lien Tax Revenue Debt" criteria (published Oct. 22, 2018), along with the generally stable growth in the pledged revenues, despite some notable declines in recent years due to the negative impact from weak oil prices and Hurricane Harvey. Key credit considerations include: A very strong economic base, characterized by a growing population, above-average incomes, and

...DALLAS (S&P Global Ratings) March 26, 2019--S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on Houston's Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department hotel occupancy tax (HOT) and special revenue bonds to 'A' from 'A-'. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A' rating to the city's series 2019 HOT and special revenue and refunding bonds. The outlook is stable. The upgrade reflects the application of our "Priority-Lien Tax Revenue Debt" criteria (published Oct. 22, 2018), along with the generally stable growth in the pledged revenues, despite some notable declines in recent years due to the negative impact from weak oil prices and Hurricane Harvey. Key credit considerations include: + A very strong economic base, characterized by a growing population, above-average incomes, and the added strength of the broad and diverse Houston metropolitan statistical area; + A moderate assessment of the hotel tax and parking pledged revenue stream that we generally believe is subject to moderate...

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