Dive Brief:
- The Anaheim-Santa Ana, California, region topped Cendyn’s list of meetings and events markets for year-over-year growth for the first time in November, the meetings intelligence platform, formerly known as Knowland, shared in a release Wednesday.
- Anaheim-Santa Ana saw year-on-year events volume growth of 17.5% last month, the highest of any of the top 25 markets Cendyn tracks, with healthcare groups in particular driving the surge. Healthcare events from Edwards LifeScience and Kaiser Permanente contributed significantly to Anaheim-Santa Ana’s meetings growth, according to Cendyn.
- Recent quarters have been strong for group business, according to Cendyn and Amadeus’ Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index, which scored its highest rating in a year during the third quarter, the companies announced last month.
Dive Insight:
Group demand is expected to continue to benefit hotels in 2025, several hotel execs noted during Q3 earnings calls.
In November, the Anaheim-Santa Ana market was followed by Atlanta for meetings and events growth, which saw 13.7% growth. Chicago, meanwhile, saw 12.6% growth, entering the top five for the first time, according to Cendyn.
In Atlanta, the education, technology, healthcare and charity/non-profit/social services sectors, as well as national associations, led meetings growth.
National associations, weddings and the education, technology and healthcare sectors drove growth in Chicago. Earlier this week, hotel owner-operator MCR bought convention hotel Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago for an undisclosed sum.
The Anaheim-Santa Ana, Atlanta and Chicago markets were followed by Detroit and Miami for meetings growth in November, posting 12.2% and 11% year-on-year growth, respectively.
Louisville, Kentucky, continued to dominate the secondary markets Cendyn tracks last month, with 59.1% year-on-year growth. Following Louisville was Memphis, Tennessee (48.9% growth), which entered the top five secondary markets for the first time this year. The markets were followed by Michigan South (45.8%), Wisconsin South (41.2%) and Oklahoma City (39.3%).
In October, Phoenix led all top U.S. markets for meetings and events growth, led by national association events, as well as those in the technology, healthcare and financial sectors.
The third quarter of 2024 was strong for group business, according to Cendyn and Amadeus’ Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index.Increases in room nights and ADRs led to Q3’s strong group performance, the companies shared in November, noting that meetings will continue to be a growth opportunity for hotels in future quarters.
