Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Open bolstered New York City’s events business “substantially” in August, with a surge in sports tourism contributing to the market’s 30% year-on-year events volume growth, according to Knowland.
- Though Las Vegas saw the most year-on-year events growth in the month, the tennis tournament partly helped New York rank second out of the top 25 U.S. markets, Knowland found. Other major markets with significant events growth in August included Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida; Oahu, Hawaii; and Anaheim-Santa Ana, California, according to Knowland.
- Outside of sports entertainment, sectors that grew New York’s events market in August included travel, technology, consulting as well as finance and banking, Knowland said. August was the first time since April that New York made it onto the list of top five growth markets.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. Open’s final weekend also drove a 16% spike in hotel rates, according to an August SiteMinder report, which noted that average daily rates had risen to $336, up from an average of $290 across the summer.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas’ events growth — up 36% year on year in August — was bolstered by events in the technology, wedding, national association, travel and entertainment and media categories, averaging 5,736 square feet and 234 attendees. Las Vegas events have now seen seven consecutive months of double-digit growth, Knowland said.
Sports tourism led to meetings growth in the Las Vegas market in June, Knowland previously shared. The June spike was due primarily to meetings related to the NHL draft.
Regarding secondary markets, Knowland reported that Louisville, Kentucky, was August’s leader, with events volume growing 105% year on year. Louisville was followed by Colorado Springs, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Virginia; and the Texas East market.
“Healthy” group and business travel is benefitting hotels, according to Knowland and Amadeus’ latest Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index, which found that in the second quarter of 2024, 22 of the top 25 U.S. markets achieved 100% or more in overall group and business performance as compared to the prior-year quarter.
And several hospitality companies, including Marriott International and Hilton, credited heightened group travel for their revenue gains in Q2.
