The monthly Pace Navigator gives you the Knowland Advantage! Through its TAP solutions, Knowland aggregates, analyzes, and reports on past and future event booking data as reported by participating CVBs, to deliver actionable trending insights needed to make better strategic decisions.

North American CVB demand sits 3.4% ahead of the same time last year. New Booking Velocity is down for all future years, except this year and 2021. The high velocity for the next two years can be attributed to the fact that 54% of all new room nights added to the books in November are set to arrive in 2020 and 2021.

Check out the results in this month’s Pace Navigator!

On the Books (OTB) Pace:
+3.4%

This metric measures the change in definite room nights on the books, as of November 30, 2019, compared to what was on the books the same time last year (STLY), or November 30, 2018. Our data shows that we have 3.4% more room nights on the books compared to this time in 2018. The graph above shows the OTB Pace change versus the same time last year, for each year in the future booking horizon.

New Bookings Velocity:
-16.5%

This metric measures the change in room nights from newly signed bookings over the last three months, in this case, September – November, compared to room nights booked over the same time last year (STLY). Across all future dates, the new bookings velocity is down 16.5% compared to the same 3-month window in 2018. The graph above shows the new bookings velocity change versus the same time last year, for each year in the future booking horizon. For example, the +15.6% new bookings velocity for 2021 compares the total room nights from September 2019 – November 2019 new bookings for 2 years into the future to the total room nights from September 2018 – November 2018 new bookings for 2 years into the future.

Our Take on This Month’s Data:

While 2020 and 2021 are in a good position overall, there are still a few holes to fill in order to maximize the growth potential. In 2020, August and December are currently pacing down 10.4% and 12.7% compared to the same time last year. For 2021 March and May are the two months with the most room for improvement, down 9.3% and 24.8% respectively.

As we look beyond 2021, we see that every year is down in booking velocity for the second month in a row. Despite this, each of the years still sits ahead in pace compared to the same time last year. We will continue to monitor these velocity numbers as we close out the year.

About the Pace Navigator:

Each month, Knowland collects a significant amount of data on forward-looking group demand across 60+ major North American markets. This data is provided by Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVBs) that participate in Knowland’s TAP Report. It is unique in providing group room nights booking pace information across the entire multi-year future booking window. This data represents over 30 million annual room nights and represents nearly 50% of the group business conducted by hotels across these markets.