GS Round-up
Hello everyone – It seems like the year is already flying by. With so many things to talk about, let’s jump right in.
Plenty of trends and predictions for 2024 still in the news for us to review. A recent GBTM Survey indicates that most travel buyers expect business travel spending and volume to increase this year compared to 2023, with costs ranked as their top concern. The survey conducted with respondents from around the world - half of whom were travel buyers or procurement professionals—showed 59 percent of travel buyers said they expect business travel volume to increase year over year in 2024.
It’s an interesting read, and one that supports the key takeaways from a Knowland meetings industry report 2024. Planners foresee more meetings and more attendees per meeting—but also big cost increases in certain areas that will force them to change tactics.
The latest research from Knowland, a meetings-data provider for the hospitality industry, and third-party planning firm ConferenceDirect finds that 42 percent of planners expect to coordinate even more meetings than they did in 2023, when many organizations held a greater number of meetings than usual to make up for those postponed during the Covid pandemic. In addition, 64 percent of planners expect the size of their meetings to grow this year, with one-third of those planners expecting attendance increases of greater than 10 percent.
On the down side, rising costs and lack of responsiveness to RFPs are giving planners cause for concern as they manage their increasing meeting workload.
GlobauxSource can be a great partner in this type of market, where our bulk buying power and industry connections can get you advantageous rates and faster response times. We can do all or part of your planning process – keep us in mind for your next meeting.
The Phocuswright analysts offer up their travel industry predictions 2024 which makes for interesting reading. You might want to consider the way that digital identity technology will transform customs and immigration. European markets will see strong inbound leisure demand continue, transient business travel will return to pre-pandemic levels, bringing with it stronger demand for “bleisure”/blended travel, the luxury travel segment is predicted to grow an average of 7.5% until 2027, and shoulder season will be busier than usual as the economy tightens and travelers search for bargains.
There are lots more interesting predictions in this piece, so check it out.
On the incentive side, Prevue editors weigh in with their incentive forecast. Corporate incentive professionals shared their opinions, among those that wellness and mental wellbeing are of paramount importance, as well as the readiness to deal with the outcomes of global unrest, climate change and the uncertainty of an election year. Sustainability, trust, transparency, and nimbleness to manage change quickly also were noted as important elements. More here: Incentive forecast 2024.
SITE has also been looking at wellbeing and recently posted this blog: Why wellbeing matters in the incentive travel industry
Strata, brand executive agency, has released its top event tech trends 2024. Personalization includes facial recognition and 3D Audio Beam forming, which beams highly directional sound to a specific audience or space. Two examples of sustainability in event technology include PET eco-fabricand green mobile power. Improvements in LED resolution, power and price point mean there are wider uses for translucent screens.
The Vegas Sphere – mapped with flexible LEDs and functioning as a giant video screen inside and out, produces video which dynamically changes throughout a show. Flexible LEDs can be used on projects of all sizes not just enormous Vegas venues.
In the world of hotels, Hotel Investment Today reports an 8% increase in project construction this year. The latest data from Lodging Econometrics also shows that renovation and conversion activity has hit record highs. More details on that here: Hotel construction forecast 2024
Powered by gains in business transient and small corporate group revenue, Hilton Worldwide on Wednesday reported an overall fourth-quarter year-over-year revenue per available room increase of 5.7 percent. It also announced a loyalty partnership with the Small Luxury Hotels of the World boutique hotel collection. Hilton & SLH
Additionally, Hilton is considering an acquisition of Graduate Hotels, which began as a boutique brand heavily concentrated in the U.S. but also with properties in the U.K., Bloomberg first reported.
It’s not surprising that, as noted earlier, costs are a concern for planners. Here’s one of the key budget drivers. Northstar reports that U.S. hotels posted record-high daily rates in 2023. The full-year numbers are in from STR parent company CoStar, and they confirm that last year's high hotel room rates were unprecedented. Both the average daily rate and revenue per available room were the highest on record for U.S. hotels, the data and analytics company revealed today, and confidence in future demand remains high. You can read more here: Record high hotel rates
Always popular, Las Vegas experienced double digit growth in convention attendance and room rates in 2023. High profile events such as the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and concerts by Taylor Swift and Beyonce helped fuel the demand and the resulting rates.
BTN reports that with meetings bookings continuing to ride a wave of demand in 2024, and meeting organizers challenged by rising rates and continuous competition for space, there is a growing shift to secondary cities, especially in top markets.
January data showed meetings business booked in cities outside the firm’s traditional top 25 markets growing at a considerably faster pace than in the top-tier group, even while the latter continues to post strong numbers. More on second tier cities from Meetings Net.
With this high demand comes a need for more staff, at a time when the industry is experiencing shortages. Northstar cites a new survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association which shows that 67% of hotels are reporting staffing shortages. The association is calling on Congress to enact several bills that would help bring in workers from abroad to fill many open roles.
"Nationwide labor shortages are preventing hoteliers from filling tens of thousands of jobs, and that problem will weigh heavily on our members until Congress takes action," according to AHLA president and CEO Chip Rogers.
There is some good news, however. As Rogers noted: "The hotel workforce situation is slowly improving thanks to record-high average wages and better benefits and upward mobility than ever before.”
AND TO CONCLUDE OUR ROUND UP – A COUPLE OF SNIPPETS
If you have employees, you probably know that by 2025, Baby Boomers are expected to be less than a third of the workforce, with those under 45 (Millennials and Generation Z) making up about 60 percent.
Are you looking five years down the road to see how your motivation options might need to change. According to the Incentive Research Foundation, the answer is “unlikely.” And shifting strategies around incentives for younger workers is among the top industry issues covered in the IRF’s recently released 2024 Trends Report. You can read more from MeetingsNet here: Incentives and younger generations
Finally, for those of you who travel internationally, some good news - The Points Guy reports that passport processing times are back to normal.
Well, that’s it for this first news round up of 2024. We’re excited about our upcoming Partner Summit, this year being held June 3-4 at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa in Birmingham, AL.
Apart from that, we’re busier than ever and looking forward to another great year. And that’s all thanks to you - our wonderful clients. We couldn’t do it with your continued support.
Plenty of trends and predictions for 2024 still in the news for us to review. A recent GBTM Survey indicates that most travel buyers expect business travel spending and volume to increase this year compared to 2023, with costs ranked as their top concern. The survey conducted with respondents from around the world - half of whom were travel buyers or procurement professionals—showed 59 percent of travel buyers said they expect business travel volume to increase year over year in 2024.
It’s an interesting read, and one that supports the key takeaways from a Knowland meetings industry report 2024. Planners foresee more meetings and more attendees per meeting—but also big cost increases in certain areas that will force them to change tactics.
The latest research from Knowland, a meetings-data provider for the hospitality industry, and third-party planning firm ConferenceDirect finds that 42 percent of planners expect to coordinate even more meetings than they did in 2023, when many organizations held a greater number of meetings than usual to make up for those postponed during the Covid pandemic. In addition, 64 percent of planners expect the size of their meetings to grow this year, with one-third of those planners expecting attendance increases of greater than 10 percent.
On the down side, rising costs and lack of responsiveness to RFPs are giving planners cause for concern as they manage their increasing meeting workload.
GlobauxSource can be a great partner in this type of market, where our bulk buying power and industry connections can get you advantageous rates and faster response times. We can do all or part of your planning process – keep us in mind for your next meeting.
The Phocuswright analysts offer up their travel industry predictions 2024 which makes for interesting reading. You might want to consider the way that digital identity technology will transform customs and immigration. European markets will see strong inbound leisure demand continue, transient business travel will return to pre-pandemic levels, bringing with it stronger demand for “bleisure”/blended travel, the luxury travel segment is predicted to grow an average of 7.5% until 2027, and shoulder season will be busier than usual as the economy tightens and travelers search for bargains.
There are lots more interesting predictions in this piece, so check it out.
On the incentive side, Prevue editors weigh in with their incentive forecast. Corporate incentive professionals shared their opinions, among those that wellness and mental wellbeing are of paramount importance, as well as the readiness to deal with the outcomes of global unrest, climate change and the uncertainty of an election year. Sustainability, trust, transparency, and nimbleness to manage change quickly also were noted as important elements. More here: Incentive forecast 2024.
SITE has also been looking at wellbeing and recently posted this blog: Why wellbeing matters in the incentive travel industry
Strata, brand executive agency, has released its top event tech trends 2024. Personalization includes facial recognition and 3D Audio Beam forming, which beams highly directional sound to a specific audience or space. Two examples of sustainability in event technology include PET eco-fabricand green mobile power. Improvements in LED resolution, power and price point mean there are wider uses for translucent screens.
The Vegas Sphere – mapped with flexible LEDs and functioning as a giant video screen inside and out, produces video which dynamically changes throughout a show. Flexible LEDs can be used on projects of all sizes not just enormous Vegas venues.
In the world of hotels, Hotel Investment Today reports an 8% increase in project construction this year. The latest data from Lodging Econometrics also shows that renovation and conversion activity has hit record highs. More details on that here: Hotel construction forecast 2024
Powered by gains in business transient and small corporate group revenue, Hilton Worldwide on Wednesday reported an overall fourth-quarter year-over-year revenue per available room increase of 5.7 percent. It also announced a loyalty partnership with the Small Luxury Hotels of the World boutique hotel collection. Hilton & SLH
Additionally, Hilton is considering an acquisition of Graduate Hotels, which began as a boutique brand heavily concentrated in the U.S. but also with properties in the U.K., Bloomberg first reported.
It’s not surprising that, as noted earlier, costs are a concern for planners. Here’s one of the key budget drivers. Northstar reports that U.S. hotels posted record-high daily rates in 2023. The full-year numbers are in from STR parent company CoStar, and they confirm that last year's high hotel room rates were unprecedented. Both the average daily rate and revenue per available room were the highest on record for U.S. hotels, the data and analytics company revealed today, and confidence in future demand remains high. You can read more here: Record high hotel rates
Always popular, Las Vegas experienced double digit growth in convention attendance and room rates in 2023. High profile events such as the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and concerts by Taylor Swift and Beyonce helped fuel the demand and the resulting rates.
BTN reports that with meetings bookings continuing to ride a wave of demand in 2024, and meeting organizers challenged by rising rates and continuous competition for space, there is a growing shift to secondary cities, especially in top markets.
January data showed meetings business booked in cities outside the firm’s traditional top 25 markets growing at a considerably faster pace than in the top-tier group, even while the latter continues to post strong numbers. More on second tier cities from Meetings Net.
With this high demand comes a need for more staff, at a time when the industry is experiencing shortages. Northstar cites a new survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association which shows that 67% of hotels are reporting staffing shortages. The association is calling on Congress to enact several bills that would help bring in workers from abroad to fill many open roles.
"Nationwide labor shortages are preventing hoteliers from filling tens of thousands of jobs, and that problem will weigh heavily on our members until Congress takes action," according to AHLA president and CEO Chip Rogers.
There is some good news, however. As Rogers noted: "The hotel workforce situation is slowly improving thanks to record-high average wages and better benefits and upward mobility than ever before.”
AND TO CONCLUDE OUR ROUND UP – A COUPLE OF SNIPPETS
If you have employees, you probably know that by 2025, Baby Boomers are expected to be less than a third of the workforce, with those under 45 (Millennials and Generation Z) making up about 60 percent.
Are you looking five years down the road to see how your motivation options might need to change. According to the Incentive Research Foundation, the answer is “unlikely.” And shifting strategies around incentives for younger workers is among the top industry issues covered in the IRF’s recently released 2024 Trends Report. You can read more from MeetingsNet here: Incentives and younger generations
Finally, for those of you who travel internationally, some good news - The Points Guy reports that passport processing times are back to normal.
Well, that’s it for this first news round up of 2024. We’re excited about our upcoming Partner Summit, this year being held June 3-4 at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa in Birmingham, AL.
Apart from that, we’re busier than ever and looking forward to another great year. And that’s all thanks to you - our wonderful clients. We couldn’t do it with your continued support.