Week marks the biggest event volume in 2022; Washington DC and Chicago pull ahead after a period of lackluster event performance
The number of U.S. meetings and events increased 56.2% compared to the prior week. This favorable comparison is due to growth of the traditional quiet holiday week. So the increase has to be taken in context. That said, the volume of meetings is worth getting excited about. The week ending September 17 had the highest single week total for events this year.
The average number of attendees for the week was 84, while the average square footage used was 1,936 per event and square feet used per person was steady at 23.
The corporate market segment continues its dominant position with 61.4% of overall meetings business for the week. The top five segments for the week were: National Association, Technology, Healthcare, Financial/Banking, and Education.
Markets with the highest week over week variance for number of meetings were Washington DC, San Diego, Chicago, Phoenix and Orlando. For this week, the Orlando market had the largest average group size (106 attendees) and San Diego had the largest square feet of meeting space used (3.066 sq ft).
| Market | Average Group Size | Average Sq Ft Used |
| Washington, DC | 82 | 2,065 |
| San Diego, CA | 115 | 3,066 |
| Chicago, IL | 75 | 1,848 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 107 | 2,688 |
| Orlando, FL | 116 | 2,995 |
These numbers and markets change weekly based on market dynamics and social trends.
Knowland tracks the weekly event activity across 128 U.S. markets with more globally and is expanding coverage regularly.