EIC Q4 2025 Barometer: hotel group room nights at 97% of 2019, room rates at 139%

The Events Industry Council published the Q4 2025 edition of its Quarterly Global Business Events Barometer. Global hotel group room nights reached 97% of 2019 levels and request-for-proposal activity remained above pre-pandemic levels at 102%. RFP activity for events scheduled more than 12 months in advance continued to grow, which EIC reads as a shift toward longer-term planning and confidence in in-person and hybrid gatherings. Cost pressure persists: global room rates averaged 139% of 2019 levels. Alongside the Barometer, Oxford Economics prepared a Global Travel Outlook for EIC members that models scenarios including a prolonged Middle East conflict and a surge in oil prices. Tourism Economics now expects 6% growth in international arrivals for the year, revised down from 8%. EIC President and CEO Amy Calvert said demand for business events remained strong through 2025 despite the year's uncertainty, but that the operating environment had shifted significantly and that near-term data would reflect increased volatility tied to the war in Iran and its effects on fuel supply, travel patterns and economic confidence.