To get an insider’s perspective on industry trends, Prevue checked in with Mike Schugt, President of Teneo Hospitality Group, whose record growth in 2022 and 2023 points to important shifts in the group travel landscape.
Teneo Hospitality’s sales team pairs meeting planners with more than 400 hotels and DMCs worldwide—who report that about 50 percent of their business comes from meetings and groups, Schugt says.
“With the normalization of leisure demand, we are seeing most of our portfolio hotels ‘grouping up’ in 2024 and into the future,” he says. “Midweek business travel has returned, but is still well below historical levels in most markets. Group meetings and banquet events remain a vital source of business for most of our hotels and resorts.”
Teneo has been closely monitoring market shifts and gathering insights that reveal both current trends and predictions for 2025. Take a look:
- The company continues to see increased group demand with new leads up five percent year-over-year in 2024 through July.
- July leads surged by 18 percent year-over-year.
- August is trending flat, reflecting seasonal transitions such as school reopenings and vacations.
- Group bookings in 2024 are up 8 percent, with room nights booked increasing by 17 percent, indicating a rise in larger group events and programs.
- Organizations are committing further ahead, with a 25 percent increase in bookings for future meetings compared to last year.
- 66 percent of current bookings are for 2024, compared to 70 percent at this time last year for 2023 travel.
- The average lead time for initial inquiries has extended to 300 days ahead of the meeting date, while group bookings are confirmed about 225 days in advance.
- While this notable trend of planners making decisions further into the future is positive for longer-term business, it poses a challenge for hotels still seeking short-term group bookings.
Schugt expects the move toward (or back to) longer lead times to continue.
“With 4 percent of current leads already focused on 2025, the trend toward booking further in advance is not just continuing but accelerating,” he says. “This year we have seen a 30-plus percent growth in meetings planned one- to-three years out. We hear from our clients that they are pushing hard for executive decision-making further out in order to secure preferred hotels and destinations for key meetings. Association meetings are also extending their planning timelines,” he adds, “especially for large annual conventions and industry conferences.”
Events With a Purpose
Schugt says how groups are meeting also has shifted, not just with regard to the environment but the people living in the destination.
“Planners and organizations are increasingly seeking venues that align with their values of environmental impact and social responsibility, making sustainability a key differentiator in the industry,” Schugt says, pointing to properties like Isla Bella Beach Resort in the Florida Keys, with partnerships in such organizations as Save Our Key Deer and Save-A-Turtle.
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