• An Early Easter and Spring Breaks Bring a Decrease of 8.1 Percent in March Meeting Business   

Knowland reported that the St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. market led the top 25 markets in March for meetings and events growth with 24.3 percent year-over-year growth. Las Vegas came in second with 20.9 percent growth. National Association and Education groups led in four of the five top markets. This data is sourced from Knowland’s sales intelligence platform and designed to help hoteliers protect and grow their revenue base.

Overall year-over-year event volume growth for the industry was at -8.1 percent. The average space used for meetings in the Top 25 markets was 3,526 sq. ft., while secondary markets were slightly less at 3,181 sq. ft. Average attendees were 124 in the Top 25, while secondary markets averaged 119 attendees.

  • Top five markets by YOY growth in event volume – Sports paid off for St. Louis in March as it ranked highest in the Top 25 U.S. markets with average space use of 3,979 sq ft for 158 average attendees. Social/Sports and National Association events were key drivers, including events such as the Missouri Valley Conference for Men’s Basketball, the Mid-American Open Chess tournament, the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), and the Hockey National Championships. Below is additional insight into the top industry drivers for these markets.
    • St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (+24.3 percent): Social-Sports, National Association, Education, Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services, Healthcare.
    • Las Vegas (+20.9 percent): Education, Technology, National Association, Wedding, Training/Education.
    • Oahu Island, Hawaii (+4.9 percent): Education, Financial/Banking, National Association, Travel, Wedding.
    • Nashville, Tenn. (+3.4 percent): National Association, Technology, HealthCare, Financial/Banking, Manufacturing.
    • Seattle (+11.5 percent): National Association, Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services, Education, Technology, Healthcare.
  • Top five secondary markets by YOY growth in event volume – Associations and Education were the leading industries. The five high-growth secondary markets and top industries were:
    • Greensboro-Winston Salem, N.C. (+45.54 percent) – Consulting
    • Colorado Springs, Colo. (+37.29 percent) – Training/Education
    • Louisville, Ky. (+35.68 percent) – Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services
    • Lexington, Ky. (+31.40 percent) – Construction
    • Rhode Island (+26.55 percent) – Charity/Non-Profit/Social

About the Data: This data is provided to help hoteliers still building momentum gain insight into the top locations selected by today’s meeting planners. This information about the leading industry drivers provides a clear picture of those groups that are returning to the meeting and event space. Insights presented result from the analysis of meetings and events data acquired through Knowland data collection and aggregation methods, including field reporting and automated methods of customer and non-customer data collection in primary, secondary, and tertiary markets, as well as its large historical database.