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Knowland, a provider of hotel meetings data, has expanded its partnership with Amadeus, a supplier of travel-and-hospitality distribution tech, to launch the Hospitality Group & Business Performance Index. The quarterly index compares data points in four categories to 2019 figures, and combines those comparisons to create an overall industry health index.
The new index marks the first time Knowland has combined its size and volume data for meetings with GDS hotel-booking data, including group and negotiated rates. The index categories are:
- Group Index, which analyzes pickup against booked room blocks, combined with calculated occupancy and average daily rate performance, and compared with the same quarter in 2019;
- Negotiated Index, based on realized business for corporate and consortia negotiated rates, combined with calculated occupancy and ADR performance, and compared with the same quarter in 2019;
- GDS Index, based on realized business booked through the Amadeus GDS, combined with calculated occupancy and ADR performance, and compared with the same quarter in 2019;
- Events Index, events volume compared with a 2019 baseline from the same quarter;
- And Overall Health, an aggregate of all four indices that reflects cumulative industry performance compared with the same quarter in 2019.
First quarter indices reveal overall group travel numbers in the United States are healthy and nearing full recovery, if not already there. For Q1, the results are:
- Group Index = 100 (fully recovered to 2019 levels)
- Negotiated Index = 86 percent
- GDS Index = 83 percent
- Events Index = 91.4 percent
- Overall Health = 90.1 percent
Knowland has long been tracking the industry's pandemic-era recovery in the form of monthly meetings-volume reports and quarterly forecasts. In January, the company ceased issuing its monthly volume reports after two consecutive months revealed volume surpassed prepandemic levels.
Additional insights gleaned from the Q1 2023 index include:
- Corporate meetings accounted for 66 percent of the events held in the first quarter, outpacing leisure events or weddings. The top industry sectors were education, national associations, technology and health care, which together made up 54 percent of total events.
- Average group size was 119 attendees.
- 70 percent of events were for 200 participants or fewer.
- Average space booked was 3,093 square feet.
Destination-specific data will be shared as part of the Q2 2023 index in July, according to Knowland. The update will display indices not only for the overall U.S., but also for STR's top 25 markets, visible via drop-down menus.
The current Hospitality Group & Business Performance Index can be accessed here.