Meetings and conference venues should see strong occupancy, average daily rate, and revenue per available room, or RevPAR, growth in 2018, according to the latest Hotel Horizons forecast. In fact, conference centers and other meeting-specific venues are expected to outpace other venue types in these key metrics.
“The wider industry findings indicate that the industry is facing a slowdown. This is in contrast to the reported conditions experience by IACC members,” says Mark Cooper, CEO of the International Association of Conference Centers, which produced the forecast in conjunction with CBRE Hotels’ Americas Research. “IACC-certified conference venues are, in the main, forecasting higher occupancy and rate growth than realized in 2016 and predictions for 2018 are for continued improved RevPAR,” he adds. Among the issues he says are challenging venue operators are a strengthening U.S. labor market and peak occupancy levels, which combined make it more difficult to hire and retain employees.
The December 2017 report, which is based on U.S. hotel performance data through September 2017 and economic data through December 2017, also predicts meeting booking lead times will grow as it becomes more difficult to book group business short term.
To learn more or to purchase an annual subscription to the four quarterly editions of Hotel Horizons: Conference and Meetings Venues, visit CBRE.
