Use events to tap into the return of travel demand
There’s no better way to see the impact of attended events on a business than to turn them off for two years and then ramp them back up again. Turning events and travel off for the general public resulted in over two years of pent-up demand now being unleashed in the world of travel.
Events are back, operational issues are easing in the US, and travel demand is climbing. Delta Air Lines expects a significant rebound of business travelers in the fall of 2022, despite the looming threat of a recession.
The return in aviation demand now that events are back has only highlighted how impactful attended events are for the aviation and accommodation industries. Let’s take a look at how travel is picking back up across the US and how companies in the travel space can leverage events to capture more of the recovering market.
Travel is back, and at higher levels
After massive losses since 2020, airlines are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. US airlines are not only reporting profits once again, they’re expecting to book record revenue during 2022. Despite higher than usual fuel and ticket prices, the number of airline passengers is up 20% year over year, RevPAR and hotel room bookings are just 2% away from full recovery in the United States, and short term rentals are up 21%. (Source)
Delta Air Lines reported revenues are back from a two-year pandemic-driven dip as leisure, corporate, and international travelers rush to book flights for this summer and fall. In fact, global airline travel has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, meaning the time for aviation companies to incorporate event data into packaging, pricing, and load factoring strategies is now.
Events drive people movement + bookings for flights
Demand patterns have shifted over the past couple of years – meaning you can’t rely solely on historical data as a signal for future demand. For a reliable, accurate view of incoming booking demand, you need to combine historical sales data with external data. The external data we are focusing on today, is external event data.
Not every event impacts air travel, but many do each year. From sports to conferences to severe weather, events frequently cause surges or sharp drops in ticket bookings. These types of events often impact travel and by tracking it, this powers the ability to spot correlations between external events and your demand.
With insight into the types of events that act as demand catalysts for your business, you can use this insight to guide your future demand predictions and avoid losing millions as a result of inaccurate demand forecasts. Revenue teams can connect exactly which events are most likely to drive airline ticket bookings.
Relying on internal data alone reinforces what teams already know, which doesn’t reveal what your competitors are doing better. For example, with insight into large annual events in target regions, an airline can build marketing strategies and event partnerships to capitalize on massive event-driven demand spikes the competition isn’t incorporating into booking rates.
Airlines also leverage Aviation Rank™ to identify which routes will receive a surge in inbound demand, long before bookings begin to flow in. This foresight powers the ability to make strategic decisions better, faster and at scale.
In July 2022 alone, there are 50 major events across the United States with an Aviation Rank of 81+ (which means a high likelihood people will be traveling in for the event), including:
SummerFest - Weekend 2 & Weekend 3 in Milwaukee, WI – 300,000 attendees
Music City July 4th in Nashville, TN – 350,000 attendees
Red, White & boom! Festival in Columbus, OH – 400,000 attendees
Fiesta Del Sol Festival in Chicago, Illinois – 1,000,000 attendees
Las Vegas Market Summer in Las Vegas, NV – 500,000 attendees
The World Games in Jefferson County, AL – 350,000 attendees
Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival in Revere, MA – 1,000,000 attendees
ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans, LA – 500,000 attendees
Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne WY – 550,000 attendees
San Diego Pride in San Diego, CA – 360,000 attendees
Pennzoil 150 vs The Brickyard – NASCAR Xfinity/INDYCAR Doubleheader in Indianapolis, IN – 257,325 attendees
Insight into these events enables aviation companies to manage inventory and staffing on key origin to destination routes, and adjust pricing to maximize profitability.
The US hotel industry is also seeing steady demand growth
Attendees flying into town for these events need a place to stay – which is why leaders in the hotel and accommodation industry also use intelligent event data to tap into event-driven demand. As the industry slowly but surely picks back up, it’s critical to understand recovery on a hyper-local level. This way, you can adjust planning to ensure your properties are getting as much of the returning demand as possible.
With PredictHQ’s coverage of 30,000 cities across the globe and counting – you’re sure not to miss any events impacting your hotel locations.
Current data suggests that RevPAR and occupancy rates in the US are remaining stable with business, convention, and international travelers expected to start returning to popular destinations including San Francisco, San Jose, New York City, and Washington, DC throughout 2022.
In terms of the market as a whole, the entire US lodging industry is expected to achieve a 2022 RevPAR 18.3% below 2019 levels (Source). It’s more important than ever to identify and take advantage of rich pockets of demand with dynamic pricing and packaging driven by real-world event data.
Don’t be caught off guard and priced wrong, or understaffed when demand picks up for your hotel locations. Use demand intelligence to pinpoint which events and event categories have previously driven demand for you, and plan ahead with detailed, forward looking event data for each of your business locations.
Tap into event-driven travel demand
Understanding how events impact your business locations is complex and dynamic, making manual tracking almost impossible and messy. Join the ranks of industry leaders optimizing yield ahead of the booking curve with PredictHQ’s demand intelligence platform. Sign up for your free PredictHQ account today and start tracking three locations for free, forever.
