Arlington, Va. and Portsmouth, N.H. – Group business is critical to hotel recovery and for destination management organizations (DMOs) and convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs) to attract visitors. This is why Amadeus and Knowland are expanding their partnership to deliver new data insights that will allow the industry to understand key trends, measure performance, and plan for the future.
The Hospitality Group & Business Performance Index combines Knowland’s event data—such as attendee numbers and the volume of booked space—with Amadeus’ group, negotiated, and GDS hotel booking data to give both individual and aggregate views of the key drivers of hotel performance. The combined insights presents a unique overview of group travel activity in the United States.
Key insights from the Q1 2023 index include:
- In Q1 2023, 91 percent of events returned compared to the same period in 2019.
- Corporations significantly lead the way ahead of leisure events or weddings, accounting for over 66 percent of events held in Q1 2023. The top sectors hosting events—education, national associations, technology, and healthcare—together accounted for 54 percent of events.
- The average group size booked in Q1 2023 was 119 attendees.
- Events for 200 attendees or less comprised 70 percent of Q1 2023 events.
- The average space booked in Q1 2023 totaled 3,093 square feet.
The Hospitality Group & Business Performance Index uses a multi-factor weighting system that balances metrics such as group, corporate transient, and GDS room nights with average daily rate (ADR) performance. Growth or declines in ADR can offset room night performance. Each factor is averaged to provide a final index score, ensuring a more accurate assessment of overall performance. The index compares figures on a quarterly basis to same-time performance before the pandemic in 2019, rolling up the data to score the overall “health” of the industry; in Q1 2023, this “health” score came in at 90 percent. Users can filter the index to view top event market segments and industries booking group events, allowing hoteliers and DMO/CVBs to closely track trends and adapt their business strategies accordingly.
“As a sales intelligence company, our strength is in our ability to leverage trend data to help hospitality organizations better understand the shifts in today’s market to improve performance,” said Jeff Bzdawka, CEO, Knowland. “Amadeus and Knowland have come together to build a new, first-of-its-kind index to enable users to understand the relative position of key business drivers so they can make the best decisions to grow revenue and asset value.”
Katie Moro, vice president, data partnerships, hospitality, Amadeus, added, “This partnership with Knowland demonstrates how our industry-leading business intelligence data can support hospitality growth and recovery. The insights provide a clear snapshot of hotel occupancy and booking trends, along with information on which sectors are meeting, group size, and the size of their meeting space. We felt it was important to go one step further with the index by aggregating the most sophisticated and in-depth data available on the market today and combining it in a way that gives the industry a meaningful benchmark on where recovery has reached. Our ultimate goal is to give hoteliers and DMO/CVBs all the tools they need to develop strong marketing and revenue strategies to increase their market share.”
