The demand-driving events and trends that US hotels need to know in 2021: New Demand Impact Report
The pandemic was hard on hotel and accommodation providers, but the next few months and beyond are going to be very exciting as the opportunities for recovery and domestic travel surge across the US. Today, we’re thrilled to be able to share a detailed report on which events will drive accommodation bookings and the trends in the US as a whole, as well as several key cities both in the US and abroad.
This report draws on our verified and enriched event data, focusing on significantly sized (more than 300 attendees) multi-day expos, festivals and conferences, as well as major league, all of which we know from our customers drive demand for accommodation providers. We also included ten of the most impactful upcoming events for each key location, so you can check your plans and forecasts to make sure they’re factored into your staffing, pricing and planning. You can access the full report here for free.
For this report, we partnered with The Data Appeal Company, which has fascinating insight into customer sentiment for cities and each individual location. Their Travel Barometer is used throughout the report for each city.
Impactful accommodation events halfway to 2019 levels
As of our data in early August, hospitality demand drivers will hit over 77% of 2019 levels in September 2021. If event trends continue at their current pace, this recovery at a national level suggests not just a “return to normal” on the horizon, but potentially an even more robust recovery in 2022. Accommodation groups are tracking impactful events carefully, as pent-up demand for travel is spurred on by restrictions easing, vaccinations rising and confidence growing.
Even though the full year’s event attendance recovery for 2021 stands at only 37% of 2019, more than 193 million people are expected to attend accommodation-scale events in the back half of this year, a 53% recovery towards 2019 levels, with still more time for events to be rescheduled and push than number even higher.
Recovery in Key Markets, July-Onward:
The report covers key US markets, as well as London and a glimpse at the still developing European event recovery.
Austin - 94% recovered: The state capitol of Texas started off 2021 much like other cities: near zero through April. However, from May to August, Austin returned to something resembling normal before a giant spike in September and October. With the upcoming United States Grand Prix, combined with all the surrounding Formula 1 events, the city of Austin is likely to see well over 1.25 million potential accommodations guests.
Las Vegas - 77% recovered: The second half of the year looks so strong for Las Vegas that it will surpass its 2019 accommodation demand trend line not once, but twice. Magic Las Vegas and Las Vegas Market are expected to draw 102,000 combined, and in October EDC, NAB, and the Summerlin Festival of the arts will attract an expected 467,000 in attendance.
Los Angeles - 52% recovered: While Los Angeles struggles with a rise in case numbers and is actively reinstituting some COVID restrictions, there are still plenty of reasons Los Angeles may yet be a bright spot for the US accommodations industry. From July on, the data shows L.A. is at 52% of 2019 levels.
New York - 49% recovered: In one of the steadiest recoveries seen in any market, New York consistently closes the accommodations demand gap from April through to September, culminating in the US Open in late August through mid-September - expected to draw 700,000 attendees, and NY Fashion Week Sept 8-12 with 120,000 attendees and $132,000,000 in accommodation income alone.
San Francisco - 27% recovered: One of the only cities where event attendance dropped to single-digits (6%) during 2020, the overall recovery picture trails beyond the rest of the U.S., with SF expecting 27% of 2019 event-driven accommodation demand. However, smaller events, particularly sports-related, are coming back. San Francisco gets a travel barometer of 79% overall sentiment and 76.3% hospitality.
For city-by-city recovery rates and major upcoming impactful events, access the full report here. Need to know about other cities or countries? Get in touch with our team.
Want more details around the report? Join us August 25th for our upcoming webinar, where Stephanie Bouic, Customer Success Manager from PredictHQ and Hannah Babineau, International Marketing and Partnerships Manager from Data Appeal will cover how and why hotels should be shifting short- and long-term strategies to include external data to properly adjust for the recovery of demand and how to take advantage of pent-up demand. Register here.