With the Taylor Swift Eras
Tour starting in May in Europe, the positive effect on hoteliers is expected to
be even bigger, according to a report from Lighthouse.
The
report found that the Taylor Swift phenomenon can shift local market dynamics
like nothing else, with smaller markets seeing triple-digit increases in posted
rates. Overall, Swift’s tour arrival generally enhances hotel pricing in every
market the Lighthouse report examined. However, the variation can be extreme
because of various factors.
Largest rate increases
The
largest increases in the average hotel room price during the Eras Tour can be
seen in Warsaw (+54%), Stockholm (+119%) and Liverpool, England (+116%). In
comparison, the difference is more muted in larger markets like Paris (+5%),
London (+9%) and Madrid (+23%).
According
to the Lightstone report, the median rate increase for a standard hotel room
compared to nearby hotels was 44%.
The
report also said short-term rentals appear less price-sensitive, especially where
the supply of tourism accommodation is high overall. Liverpool (+149%), Warsaw
(+53%) and Edinburgh, Scotland (+30%) are on the high end of the scale, while
London (-3%), Paris (no difference) and Amsterdam (+4%) are on the lower end.
The
report also examined why Warsaw, Stockholm and Liverpool experienced dramatic
hotel rate increases during their Eras Tour dates. Lighthouse found that a
large amount of the potential inventory had already been booked, and, in the
case of Stockholm and Warsaw, the demand indicators for those dates remain
strong, indicating that rates might continue to increase.
Because it’s a
smaller city, Liverpool has a much smaller inventory of available hotel rooms
(7,500-8,000 compared to 20,000 in Warsaw and Stockholm), which explains why
its rates are higher even at a lower percentage of sold-out inventory.