If you didn’t know it already, it’s a sellers’ market and
hotels worldwide are reaping the benefits. With business booming again, it’s
becoming harder for planners and groups find availability and harder still to
negotiate the rates, space and concessions they are used to contracting. Many
hotels say it’s the best market they’ve seen in 30 years with consistent
bookings for the next 24 to 36 months. The Incentive Research Foundation
started their “Pulse Surveys” in 2008 to track trends in the industry. During
the recession, 86% of groups were reducing their number of rooms and/or the
number of nights. Now, only 12% of groups are reducing their blocks while most
are increasing.
It helps to know what is most important to your group. If
you can be flexible on the location and/or dates/pattern, you might be able find
an opening at great hotel that can offer more concessions. If your location and
dates are fixed, you should expect to pay higher rates with fewer concessions.
