Overall U.S. group hotel room night revenue in the third quarter exceeded that of the third quarter of 2019, fueled by an increase in guest room rates, according to a quarterly study by meetings data provider Knowland and travel tech firm Amadeus.
Third-quarter group room night revenue in the 25 top U.S. market for events reached 99.1 percent of 2019 levels and exceeded that threshold in 13 of those markets. Tampa, Fla., led the way with group room revenue at 116.8 percent of 2019 levels, followed by Las Vegas, San Diego and New York, according to Knowland and Amadeus.
While demand for in-person meetings has increased since the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, the recovery in group room revenue is particularly fueled by rate. Overall third-quarter average daily rate increased 12.1 percent from 2019 levels, according to the companies. The total number of events, meanwhile, reached 89.1 percent of the 2019 threshold. Third-quarter event totals in Austin, Texas, Nashville and Denver, each topped 145 percent of 2019 levels.
About 70 percent of third-quarter meetings included fewer than 200 attendees, according to Knowland and Amadeus.