Fourteen of the Top 25 U.S. markets have recovered 100 percent or more of group sales revenue compared to the same time in 2019.
This is according to data from the Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index, a quarterly report provided by Knowland, a data provider on meetings and events for hospitality, and Amadeus Hospitality Group, a hospitality technology company. The index combines data from Knowland with hotel booking data from Amadeus to aggregate the key drivers of hotel performance.
Of those 14 markets, these Southern cities were included (with percent of 2019 revenue):
- Miami – 115 percent
- Tampa, Fla. – 114 percent
- Orlando – 113 percent
- Dallas – 108 percent
- Houston – 107 percent
- San Antonio – 105 percent
- New Orleans – 103 percent
- Washington, D.C. – 101 percent
- St. Louis – 101 percent
- Austin, Texas – 100 percent
According to a media release, data from the index shows that meetings and events provide a stabilizing revenue base for hotels, particularly as properties “build on the foundation of group business booked further in advance while identifying opportunities to capture shorter-term transient demand.”
The data also shows that corporate meetings are by far the best-performing event segment, accounting for 62 percent of events held during the second quarter, followed by health care, technology, and training/education.
According to the press release, the index aims to help hotel sales teams and operators identify the top markets driving group business, with the hope to strategically target these markets and drive increased sales.
The Index compares figures quarterly to same-time performance before the pandemic in 2019, rolling up the data to score the overall state of the industry. It uses a multi-factor weighting system that balances metrics such as group, corporate transient, and global distribution system (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.
