With Leisure Leveling Off, Hotel CEOs Welcome a Surge in Business Travel, Groups [Video]

The leisure travel boom may be starting to cool, but a surge in demand from business travelers and groups is picking up the slack, said hotel CEOs at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference on Monday.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. CEO Mark Hoplamazian said Hyatt is “still growing in leisure, but off a very high base of the last two years compounded. But this year, the big change is business travel.”

Hyatt’s corporate accounts are up 12% for the year through April, Hoplamazian said, while the business travel segment is up 6% year over year.

“Business travel is back, and it’s on a steady rise,” declared Hoplamazian. “We haven’t seen one month go by where we don’t see positive year-on-year growth.”

Amid business travel’s steady comeback, Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano proclaimed that groups are the industry’s strongest-performing segment. He said group clients are asking if they can book five …