Meetings and events in July increased 163.9% compared to July 2021, according to data from Knowland. Although there was a 15.5% decline from June, this is related to normal seasonality; however, it is still less than typically exhibited pre-COVID.
“July is always the low point of the summer months, with corporate meetings taking a minor step back while SMERF [social, military, education, religious and fraternal group] business surges forward,” said Kristi White, chief product officer, Knowland. “This is exactly the behavior we saw this July. Additionally, the dip from June to July was less than in years pre-pandemic. Even with the dip, the U.S. market recovered at 81.4% in July ahead of the 80.1% we saw in June.”
- The average number of attendees per event for July 2022 was 121, compared to 64 in July 2021 and 91 in July 2019.
- The average space used in July 2022 was 3,088 sq. ft. Meetings in July 2021 averaged 2,461 sq. ft. and 2,791 sq. ft. in July 2019. Proportionally from a per person (p/p) perspective, 2022 meeting space used an average of 26 sq. ft. p/p as opposed to 38 sq. ft p/p in 2021 and 31 sq. ft. p/p in 2019.
- The top five growth markets compared to June (in order) in July were Sarasota, FL; Norfolk; Buffalo, NY; Kauai, HI; and Raleigh-Durham, NC.
- The corporate segment represents 58.1 percent of meeting and event business with technology, training/education and healthcare taking the lead as the largest industry segments. From a recovery standpoint compared to July 2019 levels, online retailer, urban infrastructure, sports entertainment/media, engineering and construction were the segments at the highest level of recovery captured in July.
