While December U.S. group meeting volume decreased 16.8 percent from November 2021, this change is in line with normal seasonality trends, according to the latest data from Knowland.
Reflecting the latest industry reaction to new virus concerns, the average number of attendees declined in December. However, average space used edged closer to the 2019 metric.
- Average attendees decrease from 2019: The average number of attendees per event in December 2021 was 101, compared to 140 in December 2019.
- Average space edges closer to 2019: The average space used in December 2021 was 2,363 square feet while meetings in December 2019 averaged 2,254 square feet. During the downturn, average space used in hotel meeting venues increased due to social distancing requirements. The average is now getting closer to the previous measure as meeting guidelines are adjusted.
- Top five market growth: The top five growth markets, in order, in December were Seattle; Oahu Island, Hawaii; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Chattanooga, Tenn.
- Corporate meetings represent the largest market segment: The corporate segment represents 64.5 percent of meeting and event business with technology and healthcare taking the lead as the largest industry groups.
“There are several leading indicators the meetings industry is stabilizing,” said Kristi White, chief product officer, Knowland. “The first is native seasonality asserting itself into normal patterns seen before the pandemic began. The second is shifting growth markets. Seeing growth shift amongst many different markets is a sign recovery is spreading to all areas of the country and is not limited to a handful of markets.”
Insights presented are a result of the analysis of meetings and events data acquired through Knowland data collection and aggregation methods, including field reporting and automated methods of customer and noncustomer data collection in primary, secondary and tertiary markets as well as its historical database.