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, according to Knowland and Amadeus' Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index. Group bookings are calculated using occupancy and average daily rate.
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. The third quarter data shows that 13 of the top markets have recovered 100 percent of group revenue, including:
- Tampa 116.8 percent
- Las Vegas 114 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 percent
- Boston 100 percent
Key Report Insights
Strong ADR is driving 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, Nashville and Denver, which all achieved 145 percent over 2019 for Q3.
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 are dominating. 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.