St. Louis tops primary U.S. Markets with 125.8 percent year-over-year growth in December

Knowland by Cendyn, released December monthly data findings to help hoteliers gain insight into the top locations selected by today’s meeting planners. The company announced St. Louis, Mo./Ill. ranked first in the top 25 markets with year-over-year (YoY) growth at 125.8 percent. Nashville came in second with growth at 28 percent. However, the bigger story is Louisville, Ky., which led in secondary markets with 135.6 percent YoY growth and topped the secondary market list for the eighth time in 2024. This data is sourced from Knowland by Cendyn, designed to help hoteliers protect and grow their revenue base.

• Leading the top 25 markets by YoY growth in event volume – No single event explained the large growth numbers for St. Louis. The top four accounts, including HavenHouse, Arcadian Infracom, Crisis Prevention Institute, and the Train Shed, accounted for almost nine percent of the total, with nearly 11 percent of events from SMERF as opposed to corporate accounts. St. Louis averaged 2,112 total sq. ft. with an estimated group size of 97. The total sq. ft. used for the top 25 markets was 3,045, with an estimated group size of 121.

• • St. Louis, Mo.//Ill. (125.8 percent) – Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services, Wedding, HealthCare, Social – Sports, Construction
  • Nashville, Tenn. (28 percent) – HealthCare, Technology, Manufacturing, Consulting, Financial/Banking
  • Atlanta (26.9 percent) – Education, Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services, HealthCare, Technology, Wedding
  • Anaheim-Santa Ana, Calif. (21.4 percent) – Technology, Education, Manufacturing, HealthCare, Legal
  • Denver (16.8 percent) Technology, Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services, Consulting, HealthCare, Education

• Top five secondary markets by YoY growth in event volume – Louisville, Ky. hosted the Women’s Final Four College Volleyball tournament, setting attendance records and was primarily responsible for the increase in events. Louisville topped the secondary market for the eighth time in 2024, experiencing 135.6 percent growth and averaging 4,700 sq. ft. and an estimated group size of 154. Secondary markets saw a slight increase over the top 25 markets, with total sq. ft. used at 3,052 and an estimated group size of 122. The five high-growth secondary markets and top industries were:

• • Louisville, Ky./Ind. (135.6 percent) – National Association, Education, Food/Beverage, State Association, Manufacturing
  • Wisconsin South (67.6 percent) – State Association, Automotive, Social – Sports, Wedding, Manufacturing
  • Savannah, Ga. (54.6 percent) – Manufacturing, HealthCare, Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services, National Association, Technology
  • Long Island, N.Y. (47.5 percent) – Training/Education, Religious, Wedding, HealthCare, Manufacturing
  • Jacksonville, Fla. (42.4 percent) – Wedding, Charity/Non-Profit/Social Services, National Association, Consulting, Education

About the Data: This data is provided to help hoteliers still building momentum gain insight into the top locations selected by today’s meeting planners. This information about the leading industry drivers provides a clear picture of those groups that are returning to the meeting and event space. Insights presented results from the analysis of meetings and events data acquired through Knowland by Cendyn data collection and aggregation methods, including field reporting and automated methods of customer and non-customer data collection in primary, secondary, and tertiary markets, as well as its large historical database.

ABOUT CENDYN

Cendyn is a global hospitality cloud-based technology company that enables hotels to drive revenue, maximize profitability, and create deeper connections with guests through its integrated solutions. Serving hoteliers for nearly 30 years, Cendyn drives commercial success for hotels through its Find, Book, Grow promise: find the right guests; drive them to book direct, and grow loyalty and revenue across the spectrum of digital guest interactions.

Cendyn has over 32,000 customers worldwide in more than 150 countries. The company supports its growing customer base from locations across the globe, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangkok, and India. To find out more, visit cendyn.com.