Music tourism: How concerts impact the hospitality industry

Remove your hotelier’s hat for a moment and consider this scenario.

Your favorite band has just announced a world tour but your city isn’t on the list. If you’re like millions of fans, you won’t just shrug and miss out. You’ll grab tickets, book a room and turn the concert into a travel experience.

This growing phenomenon of music tourism, the most prominent example being the ‘Taylor Swift Effect’ – is reshaping hotel demand worldwide.

Now, with your hotel management hat back firmly on your head, read on to review the economic impact of major tours, and explore five proven strategies you can use to maximize bookings, boost hotel revenue and delight music-loving guests.

Music tourism: A growing industry

Music tourism means travel centered around live concerts and music events and it is becoming one of the most powerful forces in global travel and hospitality.

From international fans flying in for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour or Adele in Munich, to regional travelers road-tripping for Kendrick Lamar’s Grand National Tour, the act of traveling for live music is reshaping hotel demand patterns worldwide.

While the concept isn’t new, the scale is.

What was once a niche trend tied to festivals or legacy acts has exploded into a mainstream driver of bookings, thanks largely to younger generations who prioritize experiences over things. 

For Gen Z and Millennials, a concert isn’t just a night out in your local city, it’s a reason to travel, stay overnight and share it on Instagram and TikTok.

As a result, cities on tour routes are seeing spikes in hotel occupancy, especially near event venues and downtown areas.

In 2025, tours like Post Malone’s BigAss Stadium Tour, Beyoncé’s rumored international leg and a wave of new festival lineups are expected to supercharge this growth. According to Skift, 2025 marks the year live tourism becomes ‘unstoppable’, with music fans helping to fuel one of the most resilient and dynamic recovery trends in travel.

What does this mean for hotels?

For hotels, this cultural shift presents both a challenge and a remarkable opportunity.

Music tourism drives concentrated spikes in room demand around concert dates, often at premium rates - offering hoteliers the chance to uplift their revenue.

Beyond higher occupancy, average daily rate (ADR) and dynamic pricing opportunities, it unlocks upsell avenues like themed packages (pre-show dinners, fan meet-and-greet add-ons) and partnerships with promoters for exclusive guest experiences.

By aligning marketing and pricing strategies with major tour calendars, you can capture new clientele, enhance guest satisfaction and strengthen brand loyalty in an increasingly experience-driven market.

The top-grossing tours of 2024 and their impact on the hospitality industry

From the Eras Tour to Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres and P!nk’s Summer Carnival, the top-grossing tours of 2024 have driven exceptionally high spikes in demand for hotels worldwide.

In this section, we explore their economic impact, highlighting how major concerts create lucrative opportunities for the hospitality industry.

Taylor Swift: The Era’s Tour

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour grossed $1.043 billion in 2024, making it the highest-grossing tour of the year. The tour attracted massive audiences, with individual shows drawing up to 96,000 attendees, such as the Melbourne performance. 

Notably, her performances at Wembley Stadium in London spanned eight shows, collectively attracting over 750,000 fans.

The tour's impact on the hotel industry was significant. Occupancy rates in key markets like London and Los Angeles regularly exceeded 90% and revenue per available room (RevPAR) surged during concert periods. 

The average room price difference during tour dates compared to the weeks before saw  increases as high as 154%, as you can see in the bar chart in our blog post from last year.

Swift's Eras Tour not only set new records in the music industry but also underscored the significant influence of major concerts on local economies and the hospitality sector.

Coldplay: Music of the Spheres Tour

Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour grossed $421.7 million in 2024, ranking it among the top global tours of the year. Individual shows drew massive crowds, with some venues accommodating up to 96,000 attendees.

The tour attracted a significant number of traveling fans, contributing to its substantial impact on local economies.

The tour greatly influenced hotel demand in host cities with locations like Melbourne and Sydney, seeing occupancy and ADR increase by up to 81% and 61%, respectively, during concert dates. 

This swell in demand led to peak nightly room rates reaching $754 in Melbourne and $808 in Sydney. These figures underscore the tour's capacity to drive substantial revenue growth within the hospitality sector.

P!nk: Summer Carnival Tour

P!nk’s Summer Carnival Tour grossed $367.3 million in 2024, making it the third-highest-grossing tour of the year. Attracting over 2.7 million fans across 67 shows, it averaged 40,717 attendees per concert. Notably, her performance at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, drew 58,925 fans, grossing $11 million.

The tour significantly impacted local economies. In Townsville, Australia, where concerts sold out in just 16 minutes, accommodation prices surged and the local economy saw an estimated $20 million boost. Similarly, in the UK, hotel prices in Cardiff spiked from the influx of concertgoers. 

These figures further underscore the substantial influence of major music tours on local hospitality industries.

How to capitalize on demand booms and drive hotel bookings

Music tourism is more than just a booking spike.

It’s a strategic opportunity for your hotels to boost its revenue, brand visibility and guest satisfaction.

To truly capitalize on concert-driven demand, you must plan proactively and think creatively. Here are five essential tactics to help your property hit the right notes with music-loving travelers.

Ensure you use a dynamic pricing strategy

Concert-driven demand can lead to rapid fluctuations in booking patterns and room value – making a static pricing model a missed opportunity.

By contrast, with dynamic pricing you can respond in real time to increased demand, ensuring hotel rooms are neither undervalued nor overpriced.

By analyzing market trends, competitor rates and real-time demand signals, dynamic pricing helps hoteliers stay competitive while maximizing RevPAR.

The right strategy ensures premium hotel rates during peak concert nights without deterring early bookings.

Tools from the likes of Lighthouse offer advanced, user-friendly revenue solutions that help you automate pricing decisions based on accurate, data-driven forecasts.

For properties near major venues, adopting such platforms is essential to capturing the full revenue potential of music tourism booms.

Encourage guests to extend their stay

Concertgoers often travel long distances and are open to making a weekend of it.

Hoteliers can drive incremental revenue by encouraging these guests to extend their stay before or after the event. Offering incentives – such as 15–20% off an additional night, free breakfast or complimentary room upgrades – can tip the scales.

These offers work best when communicated early in the booking process, either through direct booking channels or post-booking email campaigns. Timing is key: prompt guests with extension offers during the confirmation or pre-arrival phase, when plans are still flexible. And highlight the convenience of avoiding event-day traffic or exploring local attractions.

By framing extended stays as part of the concert experience, you can increase length of stay and boost total guest spend.

Invest in targeted marketing campaigns

To capitalize on concert-driven demand, hoteliers should invest in targeted marketing campaigns that reach music travelers where they’re most active, both online and on social media.

Promote stay packages, early-bird rates or fan experiences through platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Google Ads, targeting users based on location, interests (e.g., specific artists) and event attendance.

Use geotargeting to reach potential guests in nearby cities and regions and retarget website visitors with timely offers. Collaborate with influencers or fan pages tied to the artist or tour to amplify reach. And time campaigns around ticket sale dates and concert announcements for maximum impact.

With the right messaging – ‘Stay steps from the stage’, for example – your hotel can stand out and convert concert interest into confirmed bookings.

Partner with local businesses and event organizers

Strategic partnerships can amplify hotel visibility and enhance the guest experience.

Collaborate with event organizers to be featured on official tour or music festival websites, or offer exclusive fan packages. Or consider teaming up with local restaurants, bars or transport providers to create bundled offerings, like pre-show dinners or shuttle services to the venue.

These partnerships not only drive bookings through joint promotions but add value for guests, positioning your hotel as the go-to choice for music travelers seeking convenience, comfort and a complete event experience.

Plan ahead to accommodate an influx of guests

Concert dates can cause sudden, dramatic surges in occupancy, especially near major venues.

To maintain service quality during these peaks, you should proactively schedule additional front desk, housekeeping and concierge staff.

Ensure team members are briefed on the event schedule and trained to assist music travelers with directions, transport options and local dining recommendations. Stock up on essentials, streamline check-in processes and consider adding touches like themed welcome kits or late check-out options.

Thoughtful preparation not only prevents operational strain but also enhances the guest experience, increasing the likelihood of positive reviews and repeat visits.

Concerts aren’t the only event for hoteliers to think about

While concerts and music events clearly create valuable opportunities for your hotel, they’re not the only shows in town; plenty of big ticket spectacles create a similar draw, sporting fixtures being one example of many.

So we cannot overemphasize the importance of data-driven insights for preparing for and capitalizing on event-driven tourism.

Building award-winning solutions since 2012, Lighthouse exists to help hoteliers drive bookings when major live events show up on your doorstep. Talk to one of our experts today.