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 America ended the year 2.8% ahead in pace across all future years and this positive position is maintained despite a four-month slide in Booking Velocity, which ended with the year down 18.7% compared to the same time last year. Beyond 2020, the only year not ahead in pace is 2023.

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

On the Books (OTB) Pace: +2.8%

This metric measures the change in definite room nights on the books, as of December 31, 2019, compared to what was on the books the same time last year (STLY), or December 31, 2018. Our data shows that we have 2.8% 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: -18.7%

This metric measures the change in room nights from newly signed bookings over the last three months, in this case, October – December, compared to room nights booked over the same time last year (STLY). Across all future dates, the new bookings velocity is down 18.7%% 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 -8.9% new bookings velocity for 2021 compares the total room nights from October 2019 – December 2019 new bookings for 2 years into the future to the total room nights from October 2018 – December 2018 new bookings for 2 years into the future.

Our Take on This Month’s Data:

2019 was the only year to post a positive Booking Velocity for the month of December, bolstering the year’s final position, up 3.7% to last year. 2020 is positioned to continue the growth of the Groups and Meetings market. 2020 sits ahead in pace by 3.9% lessening the immediate concern all the while giving us something to watch as we move forward.

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.