ARLINGTON, VA— November U.S. monthly meetings and events volume increased 15% over the previous month, according to the latest data from Knowland, the provider of group hospitality analytics for hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, conference centers and other meeting venues.
Even with the pause of the Thanksgiving holiday, meetings increased month-over-month. Meeting volume remains lower than 2019; however, the consistent monthly growth is a positive for the industry.
- The average number of attendees in November 2020 was 45 compared to 59 in November 2019.
The average space used in November 2020 was 1,786 sq. ft., while meetings in November 2019 averaged 2,100 sq. ft. - Primary markets grew 15% month-over-month, while secondary and tertiary markets grew 15.5%. Top growth markets were Fort Worth-Arlington, TX,; Pittsburgh; and Salt Lake City, UT.
Corporate meetings produced most of the activity with 60.4% of total meetings for the month. - Growth stabilized across all market types. Despite the holiday week in the U.S., growth was still strong and Knowland expects this trend will continue going into December.
“Corporate business remains the driving force behind meetings and events,” said Kristi White, VP of product management, Knowland. “This is good news for hotels since this business can be influenced by hotel salespeople. Despite the holiday, we continued to see growth in the volume of meetings and although 2019 volumes might still be a ways off, meetings are happening and your sales teams should be hunting for them.”