ARLINGTON, Virginia—Knowland released its U.S. monthly meetings and events data for October, reporting 131.7 percent growth over October 2021. Additionally, October 2022 grew by 21.2 percent over September 2022.
Kristi White, chief product officer, Knowland, said, “October eclipsed September by 21.2 percent. While this is normal month-over-month seasonality, it is higher than average. Additionally, the United States recovered 89.7 percent of 2019 event volumes in October, an improvement over September. This is the fifth month in a row the United States has eclipsed 80 percent recovery. Traditionally November and December are softer months, and we anticipate that will be the case this year. However, we are confident the recovery metrics will hover near the 90 percent mark for both months.”
- Average attendees per event—The average number of attendees per event for October 2022 was 119, compared to 110 in October 2021 and 95 in October 2019.
- Average space used per person—The average space used in October 2022 was 3,124 square feet. Meetings in October 2021 averaged 2,734 square feet and 3,151 square feet in 2019. Proportionally from a per-person perspective, the 2022 meeting space used an average of 26 square feet per person as opposed to 24 square feet per person in 2021 and 33 square feet per person in 2019.
- Top five market growth markets—Compared to September 2022, the top five growth markets for October (in order) were Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Boston, and San Diego.
- Corporate meetings continue as the dominant segment—The corporate segment represents 53.1 percent of the meetings and events business, with healthcare taking the lead as the largest industry segment. From a recovery standpoint compared to October 2019 levels, urban infrastructure, transportation, online retailer, environmental services, and sports entertainment were the segments at the highest level of recovery captured in October 2022.
