Market trends are crucial in helping hospitality leaders identify new hotel sales leads. Hotel sales teams can develop effective short-term and long-term lead-generation strategies by gathering and analyzing information about consumer buying habits, expected guests, and room size preferences.
For example, understanding group booking patterns during peak seasons can help sales leaders plan ahead and create targeted promotions. Similarly, insights into the preferences of different customer segments can help hotels tailor their offerings at the account level, ultimately leading to higher satisfaction levels and repeat business.
By staying on top of market trends and leveraging data-driven insights, hotel sales leaders can stay ahead of the competition and drive sustained property growth.
What Can Market Trend Data Reveal About Hotel Sales Opportunities?
Although trends may not directly point you to a specific account to contact, they can guide you in the right direction. Trend analysis informs teams on what’s currently happening in their market. Monitor the profitable sectors of the industry in your market for hotel lead generation.
Here are four hotel market trends to pay attention to:
1. Customer buying/booking patterns
Use this information to direct your account-based hotel sales strategy. Which groups book space monthly, quarterly, or annually that fits your property’s space? Can you look more closely at submarket booking patterns? These trends can help to define a target audience.
2. Shifts in meeting size
Knowland’s 2024 Meeting Planner Survey indicated that about 70% of meetings in the next year will see 200 attendees or less. The smaller meeting size is related to the increasing costs of holding a live event. Budgets for meetings are trending downward, so a smaller meeting size is sometimes the solution.
3. Industry segments that are driving revenue in your market
Some hotels specialize in serving the needs of a particular industry. But if that industry isn’t booking as frequently, you’ll need to know where to turn next. As you can see, Chemical companies had the largest increase in event capture from Q1 2024 versus 2023. If you’ve exhausted your contact list, these industries present new opportunities in your area. This table shows data from the DMV market. Note that your specific market’s industries could differ from the regional trend.
Want to know more? Our team can show you how to access this information for your market so you can focus on the most active industry segments. Request a demo.
4. Active accounts in your market can become top hotel sales leads
If you notice new groups holding events in a smaller market, it may be for cost savings. Take advantage of that! Show them what you have to offer to develop longer-term relationships with new accounts.
Want to know more about current trends for meetings? Download the Meeting Planner Survey for a 2024 forecast.
How to Use Market Trends for Hotel Sales Lead Generation
Teams can apply market trends throughout the sales processes. As you become familiar with the metrics and their impact, they can inform sales conversations, prospecting strategies, and more. However, their impact can vary across leadership roles.
Hotel General Managers
General managers must communicate with asset managers, hotel owners, and other stakeholders about the market conditions around their property. This allows them to predict market trends that could be positively or negatively impactful.
These are the key data points to consider:
- Booking volume
- Average bookings per property in the market
- Average estimated attendees
- Average estimated meeting space used for that market.
The stakeholders will likely ask whether your market is trending upward or downward on these critical data points. You can develop a sales strategy to capture these opportunities based on that data.
Hotel Directors of Sales & Marketing
Most hotels have a sweet spot for meetings. There’s a meeting size that fills the space and hotel rooms in a way that boosts revenue. Hotel Sales & Marketing Directors need to know if their target accounts are booking competitive markets or properties. If the hotel sales team is small, the director may also perform sales manager duties, such as prospecting for new accounts.
Hotel Sales Managers
With all the RFPs that come in daily, hotel sales directors or sales managers have limited time to prospect. A glance through market trend data will tell them which industries are most active and where there is the best opportunity for new business.
Hotel Revenue Managers
Hotel revenue managers are responsible for developing and implementing strategies to maximize revenue from all sources. They estimate the total account value of potential bookings with factors like space requirements, room sales, and catering. Understanding the hotel’s market trends makes optimizing for profitability possible. Market trends can also help revenue managers forecast demand and occupancy more accurately.
Related read: How Market Insights Guide Your Hotel Sales Strategy
Uncover Market Trends You Need to Grow Hotel Sales Leads and Revenue
There are always short-term and long-term sales goals for every hotel. Are you looking to fill some needs periods in the next few weeks or months? Use market trends to identify which types of groups are most likely to fit your space during need periods.
Hospitality industry data can also reveal top industries, subsegments, and accounts expected to book hotel rooms and meeting space. Knowland helps teams easily discover trends at both property and corporate levels, empowering self-service market intelligence. Let us show you how to use market trend data to build your sales pipeline and fill need periods.
