U.S. group business delivers higher Q1 performance

Knowland and Amadeus' Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index shows that the group health index is 102.3 percent year-over-year and six of the top 25 U.S. markets have achieved 110 percent compared to the same time in 2023. Beginning with the first quarter of 2024, the Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index now focuses on YOY performance.

  1. Las Vegas    121 percent
  2. Boston        121 percent
  3. Seattle    119 percent
  4. Houston    114 percent
  5. New York City    110 percent
  6. Minneapolis     110 percent

The index combines event data from Knowland with hotel booking data from Amadeus’ Demand360+ business intelligence solution to provide aggregate views of the key drivers of hotel performance. The aggregated index reflects performance for all segments—group, corporate negotiated, GDS and events—and shows Q1 2024 achieved 99.9 percent overall health compared to 2023. 

Additionally, Q1 data shows that more than 52 percent of the top 25 U.S. markets have exceeded 100 percent of 2023, including:

  1. Seattle    115.1 percent
  2. Houston        107.5 percent
  3. New York City    106.9 percent
  4. Boston    106.1 percent
  5. San Francisco    105.8 percent
  6. Las Vegas    105.8 percent
  7. Washington, D.C.    104.6 percent
  8. Detroit    104.0 percent
  9. Miami    102.4 percent
  10. New Orleans        101.8 percent
  11. Chicago    101.4 percent
  12. Nashville    101.3 percent
  13. Tampa    101.0 percent

By using data from the Knowland platform and sales and catering solutions like Amadeus' Delphi, hoteliers can develop precise, data-driven strategies to boost group sales and efficiently manage the entire process from lead to event execution.

Key insights from the index are:

  • Group continues to be the top-performing revenue segment achieving 102.3 percent overall health index with room nights at 99.1 percent of last year while ADR increased 3.2 percent.
  • Negotiated and GDS performance rally to 2023 levels. Negotiated achieved a 97 percent overall health index. Room night production was 93.6 percent of Q1 2023 while ADR increased by 3.6 percent. GDS achieved a healthy 100 percent overall health index with room night production at 98.2 percent of last year and ADR increasing 1.8 percent.
  • Event volume showed strong performance with meetings getting bigger. Meetings continue to provide stability for hotels after the 2023 boom year. Average attendees were up 25 percent, from 116 to 145 estimated number of guests, and the average space used was up 31.1 percent, from 3,037 to 3,981 sq. ft.
  • The stabilization of business segments is evident. The comprehensive health index has demonstrated improvement, rising from 94.5 percent in Q4 2023 to 99.9 percent in Q1 2024, indicating inherent stability and robustness across all sectors as organic growth gains prominence. 

The index helps hoteliers identify top drivers of group business and assess industry ‘health.’ It offers filters for event market segments and booking industries, empowering hoteliers, DMOs and CVBs to adapt strategies effectively.