ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. monthly meetings and events volume increased 7.3 percent in January 2021 over the previous month, according to the latest data from Knowland, provider of group hospitality analytics for hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, conference centers, and other meeting venues.
The new year started slowly but picked up pace as the month continued. Several key markets showed more significant rebounds, which added to the increases. Month over month, the top five growth markets were Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Dallas; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Washington, D.C.; and Atlanta.
Knowland also found that the average number of attendees increased year over year, from 37 in January 2020 to 42 in January 2021. The average square footage used also increased from 1,218 square feet in January 2020 vs. 1,550 square feet in January 2021.
Corporate meetings represent the largest meeting segment in January 2021, producing most of the activity with 63.7 percent of total meetings for the month.
“The new year started slowly but built up momentum,” said Kristi White, vice president of product management, Knowland. “Markets that had closed in December reopened and began to rebound quickly. Additionally, unlike prior months, the leading growth markets in January were in the Top 25 Markets. Through the fall, we saw most of the growth limited to secondary and tertiary markets, so to see Top 25 Markets enter the fray is a healthy sign of recovery for the first quarter.”
