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in relation to competition for organizations� business.
A comparison of the March 2007HIS Monthly Market Summaries with the reports for the previous March for Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles showed strikingly different dynamics for the �Ten Most Active Properties� in those cities. HIS records the number and names of �unique organizations� meeting each month in the cities it surveys. Philadelphia For Philadelphia, March 2007 showed 831 total unique organizations/associations meeting in hotels in the downtown and airport areas, down from 1,027 in March 2006, a 19% decline. The HIS report for March 2007 showed a reshuffling of the �top ten� most active hotels, compared with the previous March. The latest HIS report shows Loews Philadelphia Hotel jumping from ninth to first place in both number of unique organizations hosted (64) and in market share (12.2%). Loews Philadelphia boosted its market share of the meetings business from 8.4% the previous March. In second place for March 2007, up from fifth place in March 2006, was the Hyatt Regency at Penn�s landing, with 63 unique organizations hosted and a 12% market share, up from 10.1% the previous March. Four hotels, not previously on the list, moved up into the top ten. HIS reports show that seven of the nine �Most Active� organizations or associations in the March 2007 survey, in terms of event days booked, had not appeared on the list in the previous March. Only Fresh Word Ministries (10 event days) and the Wills Eye Hospital (8 event days) popped up again Event Days are the bread-and-butter of hotel sales and catering managers. The differences in the compositions of the Most Active organizations suggest that hotel sales people were very active in finding new business for March 2007. San Francisco While Philadelphia�s meetings business seemed in a state of flux, March 2006 vs. March 2007, San Francisco�s was comparatively stable when the same months are compared. HIS reports show the same three San Francisco hotels running one, two, and three in terms of the number of unique organizations hosted. The Westin St. Francis remained number one, with 71 unique organizations meeting there and posting a 14.8% share of this market. The San Francisco Marriott remained number two, with 58 organizations and a 12.1% share. Number three for the second consecutive March was the Fairmont Hotel, with 49 organizations and a 10.2% share. After these top three, the list shows four newcomers, including Le Meridien San Francisco in fourth place, with 48 unique organizations and a 10% share of the meetings market. Of the ten most active organizations in the HIS March 2007 report, only one remained from the previous March � Wells Fargo, which once more recorded the highest number of event days, at 14. Total number of unique organizations meeting in San Francisco remained virtually equal in the two months surveyed � 962 in March 2006 and 978 in March 2007. Los Angeles HIS Monthly Market Summaries for March 2006 and 2007 show Los Angeles to lie somewhere between the volatility of Philadelphia and the stability of San Francisco. Total unique organizations/associations hosted in the Downtown/Westside market (which also contains Pasadena) went from 806 in March 2006 to 669 in March 2007, a decline of 17%. The list of the top 10 most active hotels for March 2007 contains only two newcomers from March 2006, but with a lot of shuffling among the other eight. The Pasadena Hilton drops from number one to number two, with 49 unique groups and an 11.9% share of the meetings market. The Westin Pasadena jumps from fourth place to first, with 56 unique organizations and a 13.6% share. The Westin Bonaventure (45 and 10.9%) is number three, but was not on the list last March. The Beverly Hilton falls the farthest, March to March, from third place to eighth. Of the ten most active groups or organizations in the HIS March 2007 report, the top three in March 2006 were the top three again � Kaiser Permanente, AD Banker, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The other seven were new to the list. 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. �Over the years, we�ve fine-tuned our system to provide exactly what our clients tell us they need - well-organized, meaningful, and fact-checked reports, including contact information,� says HIS founder Steve Reiser. HIS analyzes, processes, and verifies the data for accuracy before it packages the information as a weekly, monthly, or quarterly report and sends it on to HIS subscribers, usually hotel GMs and sales directors. 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 more than 44 markets in the U.S. and Canada. Hotel GMs and Sales Directors Battle for Market Share �Hotel GMs and Directors of Sales know they can increase revenue and market share by moving meetings and catering business out of their competitors� properties and into their own. They use HIS market intelligence to increase their top-line revenues,� says Reiser. Hotel Executives constantly search for the weapons they need to increase market share: �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]. |
