SPECIAL REPORT
POWER in Numbers
IT ’ S THE SEGMENT THAT EVERYONE WAS HOLDING THEIR BREATH FOR TO RETURN : GROUP BUSINESS . NOW IT ’ S BACK , BUT IS IT THE SAME AS BEFORE ?
Contributed by HARVEY CHIPKIN
There ’ s no business like group business and the hotel industry is enjoying a surge in the segment that has seen numbers gaining on pre-pandemic levels .
According to CoStar data , group occupancy for 2019 was 22.3 %; in 2023 , it was 19.6 %. For Monday through Wednesday — considered peak meetings periods — the numbers were 25 % in 2019 and 21 % in 2023 . CoStar defines group as room blocks of 10 or more and these numbers represent occupied room nights in that category divided by the available room inventory .
Emmy Hise , senior director of hospitality analytics at CoStar Group , said that based on conversations with convention and visitor bureaus at major city centers , citywide conventions are returning and at increased attendance levels . Also , longer booking windows for citywide conventions have resumed , meaning these events are booking out for the next five or so years .
Most major city centers experienced stronger year-over-year growth due to the increase in convention center and group activity , according to Hise . There are outliers , such as San Francisco and Portland , Ore ., which have experienced
WE EXPECT COMMERCIAL TRAVEL TO DRIVE GROWTH IN 2024 , AS LEISURE TRAVEL REMAINS AT ELEVATED LEVELS
– ASAD AHMED , SVP OF AMERICAS , COMMERCIAL SERVICES , HYATT HOTELS CORP .
8 hotelsmag . com May / June 2024