ARLINGTON, Virginia—Knowland and Amadeus presented the metrics from the companies’ Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index. The third quarter of this year shows the top 25 U.S. markets have recovered 99.1 percent for group business compared to the same time in 2019. Group bookings are calculated using occupancy and average daily rate (ADR).
The Index combines event data from Knowland with hotel booking data from Amadeus to give both individual and aggregate views of the key drivers of hotel performance and is updated on a quarterly basis. Q3 data shows that 13 of the top markets have recovered 100 percent of group revenue, including:
- Tampa: 116.8 percent
- Las Vegas: 114.0 percent
- San Diego: 111.5 percent
- New York City: 111.2 percent
- Phoenix: 109.9 percent
- Seattle: 108.5 percent
- Orlando: 108.2 percent
- Dallas: 107.8 percent
- Houston: 107.7 percent
- Detroit: 106.2 percent
- Washington, D.C.: 104.5 percent
- Denver: 101.0 percent
- Boston: 100.0 percent
Insights from the Q3 2023 Index are as follows:
- Strong ADR drives group recovery: Achieving 103 percent of 2019 revenues, the group index continues an upward trend, driven by a 12.1 percent increase in ADR.
- Meeting and event business continues to provide stability: Event business enables hoteliers to build a foundation for their business with a traditionally longer booking window in view. Events achieved 89.1 percent of 2019 levels. Key markets doing this well include Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Denver, Colorado, which all achieved 145 percent over 2019 for Q3.
- Optimism for improving corporate travel: Reflecting the potential upward trajectory of business travel, there are promising signs as the negotiated segment inches closer to pre-pandemic levels. The top three markets leading this rebound include Miami (119 percent), San Diego (112 percent), and Las Vegas (108 percent.)
- Corporate meetings dominate: Remote work continues to drive the need for small company gatherings to foster collaboration and culture building, as demonstrated by the fact that 70 percent of meetings in Q3 averaged ~200 attendees. The top segment was 101-200, representing 20.4 percent of total meetings, closely followed by groups of 26-50 attendees, representing 19.8 percent.
Launched in June, the Index was designed to help hotel sales teams and operators identify the top markets driving group business, enabling hotel sales teams to target these markets and drive increased sales strategically. It compares figures quarterly to same-time performance before the pandemic in 2019, rolling up the data to score the overall “health” of the industry. The Index also includes filters to view top event market segments and industries booking group events, allowing hoteliers, DMOs, and CVBs to track trends and adapt their business strategies accordingly.
