Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is already 2023’s biggest and it’s less than halfway through, creating an outsized effect in those destinations lucky enough to be hosting the superstar.

At OTA Insight, we’ve recently explored the impact of major sporting and cultural events on hospitality markets, but one event that has really stood out this year is Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

The tour, an impressive lineup of over 130 concerts, has already claimed the title of 2023’s top-earning musical tour. Astonishingly, this feat was accomplished before the tour even hit its halfway mark or ventured beyond U.S. boundaries. If the present ticket sales momentum continues, the Eras Tour is on track to shatter records, potentially becoming the first tour to amass over a billion dollars in revenue.

But Swift's tour doesn't just resonate on the music charts. Its ripples extend to the hospitality and hotel industry as well.

The tour’s focus on multi-date, arena-filling stops that hit major destinations over weekends is moving accommodation markets in even globally significant cities with deep pools of inventory.

Our analysis has unearthed an unmatched phenomenon: the Taylor Swift effect. Let's peel back the layers to fully comprehend how this ripple effect plays out on the ground.

The Eras tour and its impact on hotel demand to date

As of July 2023, the Era's tour had crisscrossed the US but had yet to leave the country. Its impact, however, is already evident in the numbers.

At first glance, its effect on the hospitality industry might seem slight, with only incremental price growth year-over-year (YoY) in the months when Swift's tour graces the cities, and rates often marginally higher than the preceding month.

But a closer look reveals a substantial impact, underlining the enormous influence of this singular artist.

Despite a lull in the U.S. travel market following a boom in 2022, the Eras Tour is playing a supportive role in local markets, staving off potential price erosion in most locations.

Upon aggregating data from 13 tour stops to date, we find an interesting pattern in average price changes in the months preceding, during, and after the concerts. Prices see an uptick of 7.7% YoY in the month prior, and a slight reduction to +7.2% during the tour. However, in the post-tour month, prices dip 4% below 2022 levels.

It's important to remember that these are substantial U.S. markets, and generally, Swift's appearances only span two or three consecutive nights at a single location within an entire month.

The fact that a single music tour can significantly influence average pricing in major U.S. cities for an entire month underscores the magnitude of this tour and its far-reaching implications for the hotel industry.

Minneapolis serves as a prime example of this overarching impact. Hotel prices in the city remained largely stable throughout 2022, before experiencing a sharp surge of 80% from May to their zenith during the tour dates in June 2023. Meanwhile, short-term rentals saw a 37% hike during the same period. Post-tour, prices promptly reverted to their long-term average trends for the year, marking a sharp descent from their prior high.

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