Group Booking Pace Slows in Tight Market for Meetings
Photo Credit: American Society of Hematology 58th Annual Meeting at the San Diego Convention Center. Facebook / Todd Buchanon
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New research from Cvent shows that group business is declining for U.S. hotels, and planners are booking room blocks closer to the date of their event than before. This is bad news for hotels, which rely on group bookings to boost business.
The common wisdom in the meetings and events space today is that planners should book as far in advance as possible in order to lock in favorable room rates and commission levels.
Booking data, however, shows that the opposite has been taking place.
The new Cvent Group Business Outlook report shows that group business for U.S. hotels is slated to decline slightly over the next two years when compared to the strong growth seen over the last few years. Cvent pulled the data from the $16 billion in request for proposals routed through its system this year.
The average size of group blocks, average peak night rooms, average eve
