The Washington, DC-MD-VA market led the U.S. meetings and events industry by volume for March, according to data from Knowland. Second place again went to Chicago, with Los Angeles-Long Beach in third. The leading industry driver for meetings was national associations across four of the top five markets.
This data is a subset of Knowland’s sales pipeline generation platform designed to help hoteliers build and protect a hotel’s revenue base.
Washington, DC jumped ahead of other markets this month with its National Cherry Blossom Festival in peak bloom from March 22-25, drawing groups and tourists from around the world. The market averaged 200 attendees per meeting and 5,468 sq. ft. of space used, and an average of 16 bookings per property for the month.
Year-over-year comparison: March 2023 event volume increased 79.6% over March 2022.
Top five markets by event volume: Washington, DC-MD-VA was in the lead, hosting national associations, followed by education and healthcare. Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and Dallas rounded out the top five markets. The chart below provides additional insight into the top drivers for these markets.
Top five markets by percentage growth: The top five markets by year-over-year growth in meetings and events are Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC; Fort Myers, FL; Oahu Island, HI; Jacksonville, FL; and Memphis.