A comparison of the July 2007 HIS Monthly Market Summaries with the reports for the previous July for San Francisco, Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley), CA, and Phoenix/Scottsdale shows the unique dynamics of their meetings markets, as well as of the �Ten Most Active Properties� in those cities.

HIS records the number and names of �unique organizations� meeting each month in these three markets, as well as some 40 others it surveys.  

San Francisco, CA

In July 2007, San Francisco�s �Ten Most Active Properties� recorded 9.0% growth over July 2006 in the number of organizations meeting at those hotels. The ten most active hotels logged 490 meetings in July 2007, up from 449 in July 2006.  

The HIS report for July 2007 shows the top two �most active� hotels, measured by market share, exchanging places from the previous June.  The Westin St. Francis, number two in July 2006, with a 14.5% market share, ended July 2007 in first place, with a 15.7% market share. The San Francisco Marriott dropped from number one in market share (15.6%) in July 2006 to second place, with a 13.9% market share in July 2007.  

The Westin San Francisco Market Street moved up from eighth place in July 2006 (when if was The Argent) to seventh place in July 2007, although market shares were nearly identical (8.0% in July 2006, 8.2% the following July).  The biggest drop among the Ten Most Active came with the Crowne Plaza Union Square falling from third place in July 2006 (10.9%) to eighth place in July 2007 (7.6%). 

HIS reports show only one of the nine �Most Active� organizations or associations in the July 2007 survey, in terms of �Event Days� booked, had appeared on the list the previous July. That was Wells Fargo, which led the list in July 2006 with 19 event days, but generated only eight event days in July 2007.  The rest of the meetings represented new business for these hotels.  

Event Days are the sine qua non of hotel sales and catering managers.  The differences in the compositions of the most active organizations suggest that hotel sales people were successful in retaining old business and finding new for July 2007.

Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley 

HIS surveys hotels throughout Santa Clara County, which includes Silicon Valley.

A comparison of July 2006 to July 2007 in Santa Clara County shows a 1.0% increase in meetings overall, but a 5.8% decline in total unique accounts amongst the Ten Most Active hotels, July to July. Total meetings business for Santa Clara County went from 685 to 692, July to July.  The �Ten Most Active� hotels recorded 346 of these unique accounts in July 2007, down from 366 the previous July.

Topping the list of the ten most active properties for July 2007 was the Hayes Mansion Conference Center, with a 13.3% market share.  The Doubletree San Jose slipped down a notch from the previous July, when it had recorded a 16.1% market share.  In July 2007, its market share was 12.7%.   The Hyatt Regency Santa Clara remained in third place, recording an 11.7% market share in July 2006 and 10.4% in July 2007.  

The HIS Monthly Summary for July 2007 reported that the Mennonite Church USA was the most active organization for in the Santa Clara market for July 2007, accounting for 25 event days and 127 individual events.  Four of the most active organizations meeting in Santa Clara in July 2006 returned in July 2007.  Britt Worldwide accounted for 14 event days, up from 8 the previous July.  Intuit returned with 10 event days, up from 8.  Cisco Systems recorded 9 event days in both Julys.  Herbalife International brought in 14 event days in July 2006 and 8 in July 2007.

Phoenix/Scottsdale

The HIS Monthly Summaries show Phoenix/Scottsdale experiencing healthy growth in meetings activity in July 2007, compared to the previous July.  The total number of unique accounts was up by 12.4% - 644 for July 2006, 724 for July 2007.  The area�s �Ten Most Active Properties� recorded a 6.6% increase in this business - 346 unique accounts for July 2006 and 369 for July 2007. 

Phoenix/Scottsdale showed a slight shuffling in the first three places among the Ten Most Active properties.  The Phoenix Airport Marriott remained at the top for both July 2006 (11.8% market share) and July 2007 (16.3%).  The Arizona Biltmore moved up from third to second (10.7% market share in July 2007, 11.9% in July 2007).  The Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa slipped from second to third place, but with nearly identical market shares - 11.0% in July 2006, 11.1% in July 2007.  The biggest jump was made by the Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains, which moved from tenth place in July 2006 (8.4% market share) to fourth (9.8%) in July 2007.

The strong showing of the Phoenix Airport Marriott may be attributed to the big jump in unique accounts it landed � 60 in July 2007, up from 41 the previous July.  The closest any of the other top ten came to such a jump was Arizona Biltmore, 37 to 44 between the same two months.

According to the HIS Monthly Summary for July 2007, the single most active account was DHL, with 14 event days, followed by Cortiva with 13.  Only two organizations reappeared from the previous July, DHL and Tauck World Discovery, with 12 event days, up from 7 in July 2006. 

What difference does all this make?   For hotel General Managers and Directors of Sales & Marketing, this is crucial market intelligence.  

For over 17 years, Hospitality Information Services, Inc., based in Walnut Creek, CA, has been providing the hotel industry with competitive market information just like this -  revealing which companies and organizations are meeting� where� and for how long.  In addition, HIS also provides event contact information for the corporate or association people in charge of the events.

HIS provides hotels with the intelligence they need to compete and increase market share in two important segments of their business � the meetings and catering market segments.  Currently, HIS gathers data from over 1,200 properties in 44 markets in the U.S. and Canada.

Hospitality Information Services Gives the Advantage to Hotel GMs and Sales Directors in their Battle for Market Share.  Among these advantages are 

� The largest event planner database in the world

� 24/7 online access to real-time market intelligence

� Top accounts by comp set property

� Corporate individual travel account development resources
� Turnkey resources for targeted sales blitzes

� Market segmentation analysis for all accounts

� Catered vs. Non-Catered event analysis

�HIS provides powerful and comprehensive resources for new account development and helps us move market share within our market.  By using HIS market intelligence services, we have seen incremental gains in both market share and RevPAR growth over our competitive set.� � Lori Shook, Director of Sales & Marketing, Hyatt Grand Champions Resort & Spa

For more information on Hospitality Information Services and the data it provides, visit the web site at www.hisnet.com, or contact Joe Krings, HIS Director of Sales, (831)620-1361.

For copies of the reports referenced here, contact Gary Carr at (925) 672-8717, [email protected].