A strong MICE market is driving a robust hospitality industry recovery in 2024, according to two recent studies.
The Q2 2024 Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index shows that the MICE market continues to be a key driver of hotel business in the U.S. The findings combine metrics from Kowland, a provider of meetings and events data, with hotel booking data from travel industry technology provider Amadeus. According to the Index, 22 of the top 25 U.S. destinations have achieved 100 percent or more growth in overall MICE business compared to the same time period in 2023. The top 10 cities were Las Vegas (117.9 percent), Seattle (117.6 percent), Nashville (114.2 percent), Detroit (110.2 percent), Houston (108.9 percent), Miami (108.2 percent), Washington, DC (108.0 percent), Philadelphia (107.4 percent), Tampa (107.0 percent), and New York City (106.6 percent).
Key MICE insights from the Index:
Strong group growth with Northeast and Midwest regions leading the charge. The Group Index has achieved seven consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth, reaching 108 percent. The Northeast and Midwest regions were standout performers, experiencing double-digit growth in group nights.
The GDS Index, which measures and benchmarks the sustainability performance of tourism destinations, scored 112 percent overall. The most significant growth in GDS room nights booked occurred in the Northeastern region, with New Jersey, Maine, and Rhode Island experiencing more than 25 percent year over year growth.
Negotiated room rates remain stable compared to last year. The Negotiated Index score was 102 percent, with a 3.8 percent increase in ADR. (average daily rate).
Event volume is steady as meetings get bigger. The volume of events in 2024 was consistent with 2023. The difference is that there has been a reduction of one-day meetings in 2024 and some of those events have become multi-day conferences.
Meetings continue to provide stability for hotels after the 2023 boom year. Average group size held steady at 145 attendees. Eleven of the top 25 destinations achieved 100 percent or more group size for Q2 2024 versus the same period last year.
Deloitte Corporate Travel Outlook
A recent Corporate Travel Study from Deloitte also points to a robust MICE marketplace, with business travel growth led by conference attendance. “Industry gatherings, which offer the opportunity to meet with many clients and prospects in a short time, hold an increasingly prominent place on respondents’ agendas,” said the study. A quarter of the 104 U.S.-based corporate travel manager respondents said that conference attendance was the biggest driver of travel growth in 2023 and expect that to continue in 2024. Half ranked conferences among the top two growth drivers. Of the 1,389 US-based corporate travelers surveyed, 6 in 10 said they expect to travel for a conference in 2024, significantly ahead of all other trip types.
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