MADRID – The news is promising. According to Amadeusa leading travel technology company, 4.3 million group room nights are already booked for 2023. Adding to the good news, global hotel occupancy rates surpassed pre-pandemic levels in July and August, preempting what is expected to be a strong fourth quarter across all segments, leisure, groups and business travel.
The numbers are telling. This summer, global hotel occupancy rates averaged nearly 70%, an increase of about 5% compared to summer 2019.
The group and business travel segments are showing a steady recovery in the fourth quarter of this year, with 4.3 million group room nights already booked for 2023. These statistics were compiled by AmadeusAgency360and Amadeus’ deep Demand360 business intelligence data.
These positive trends indicate continued consumer confidence in booking travel for future stay dates, laying an excellent foundation for a strong fourth quarter where accounting data already exceeds 2019 bookings.
The stabilization of booking lead times reflects the recovery in occupancy rates. This year, 2022, is nearly in line with booking behaviors seen in 2019, with 53% of bookings made in the zero- to seven-day window compared to 50% of bookings made in this time frame in 2019. The improvement in booking lead times implies increased confidence from travelers who are committing for the longer term. Average daily rates (ADRs) also continue to trend positively for the fall season, surpassing 2019 levels for the remainder of 2022, peaking around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The fourth quarter of this year will be marked by strong activity in the conference sector. Global group occupancy rates will consistently hover between 1% and 2% of pre-pandemic levels for the remainder of 2022 as the conference sector begins to rebound. Furthermore, Amadeus data shows that group bookings are starting to extend more confidently into 2023, with 4.3 million bookings already made for the first half of 2023.
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Mariela McIlwraith, Director of Sustainability at the Events Industry Council’s (EIC) Centre for Sustainability and Social Impact, commented on the good news. “Opportunities to gather in person should be leveraged to have the greatest impact possible. We want to ensure we are designing events that matter, where people come away feeling refreshed and where solutions are created. The power of human connection is the ultimate renewable resource,” said McIlwraith.
With group travel expected to see a strong recovery in the fourth quarter of this year and beyond, hoteliers can plan to accommodate larger groups, mitigate the potential impact of staff shortages and consider new amenities, including enhanced event technology, to implement to meet planner demands.
Business travel is also seeing a steady recovery as the year progresses. Reports show that 2022 is approaching 2019 levels, according to Amadeus’ Agency360 data, which reveals that hotel bookings across all major global distribution systems (GDSs) increased by 98% in August 2022 compared to January 2022. At the start of this year, hotel booking volumes were 62% below 2019 performance. However, this gap has gradually closed in 2022, with global hotel booking volumes in August 23% below 2019.
“It is very encouraging to see such positive data this summer across all segments of the hospitality industry. As the appetite for travel looks set to continue to grow in the months ahead, it is critical that hoteliers and destination marketers have accurate, forward-looking insights to help them optimize their revenue strategies and minimize ongoing challenges related to staff shortages. With these insights, they can also better understand who is traveling, enabling them to deliver a truly differentiated experience,” said Katie Moro, Vice President of Hospitality Data Partnerships at Amadeus.
Contact Amadeus Hospitality at (603) 436-7500