Tripadvisor’s Viator has long been one of the largest online travel agencies for tours and activities. But to juice its revenue, it began letting tour operators spend more for better placement in Viator search results.
24.10.2023 - 19:39 / skift.com / Sean Oneill
We know out-of-town fans of Taylor Swift have boosted tourism in major cities in 2023. Beyoncé has her own power to lift hotel bookings, too.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour dates in Europe and the U.S. overlapped with better-than-usual performances at hotels near her venues. That’s according to a market impact analysis of Beyoncé on the hotel sector that CoStar’s STR released on Tuesday.
Cardiff, Wales, was the market that enjoyed the biggest boost of all the tour host cities.
“Average daily rate (ADR) popped to $247 from a baseline of $106,” said STR about Cardiff.
Cologne, Germany, was another city that benefited. During Beyoncé’s concert, the city enjoyed an $80 revenue per available room premium for the market. It had 95.3% of its hotel rooms filled, compared to its baseline occupancy rate for the period of 61.1%.
Houston was another place to enjoy a Beyoncé Bump. Hotels in the city generated $18 million in revenue across the nights of her concerts, September 23 and 24, according to destination marketing firm Houston First on Monday. That was 45% higher revenue than the same weekend a year earlier.
“The Houston market saw … a market lift in average daily rate by $21 for a concert,” STR said on Tuesday.
Houston hotels enjoyed an average daily rate of $241 on Saturday — a near record for the city for this year.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Beyoncé’s tour stop in August delivered the tenth-highest revenue night ever for hotels in the county where the stadium is based. “The market’s RevPAR [revenue per available room] premium of $49 was heated during a lower performance time in the market,” said CoStar’s STR on Tuesday.
It’s possible to overstate the Beyoncé Effect, however.
“Some markets popped, while others remained closer to normal demand trends,” STR’s said.
Some cities, such as London, Boston, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, saw little or no measurable gain above the norm.
Concerts on weeknights when school was in session were much less likely to drive travel demand.
About one in five host cities actually saw hotel performance on concert nights actually come in below their recent typical norms. These cities typically were ones with lots of hotel rooms during seasons when their hotels already tend to do pretty well.
Yet the tour’s effect on the travel sector was notable and certainly was competitive with the effect of Taylor Swift’s performances.
Forbes has forecasted Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour to make $2 billion in ticket sales this year through this month. The artist has won more Grammy Awards than any other person.
Tripadvisor’s Viator has long been one of the largest online travel agencies for tours and activities. But to juice its revenue, it began letting tour operators spend more for better placement in Viator search results.
1 Hotels has launched its first European property, with 1 Hotels Mayfair now open in London, standing as the brands flagship location in the United Kingdom.
Two travelers enlisted the help of TikTok to make sense of their quirky hotel bed — which turned out to be billionaire Richard Branson's "hotel bed of the future."
At the start of the year, Sortis Holdings said it would acquire Ace Group International, owner of Ace Hotels, for $85 million in cash. Now the deal is off.
Los Angeles’ city council appeared this week to have reached a political compromise with the local hotel workers’s union about a controversial plan to mandate that hotels temporarily house the homeless.
Hyatt has bet more of its future on China than any other Western hotel group. It has 40% of its hotel pipeline there — a greater percentage than the hotel development pipeline of any public company in its peer group.
October is one of my favorite months in New York City. Here, you get a mix of chilly fall days and unexpectedly warm temperatures, plus the leaves change into vibrant hues of orange, yellow and red. With many schools on fall break, there are plenty of tourists in town checking out that delightful Central Park foliage (and staying at the best hotels in the area) and, for me, it's one last chance to hold onto the city before it really gets cold.
I take the planning of our Vegas trips very seriously.
It’s almost fondue season, and if you want a truly unique experience with the most scenic alpine backdrop, head to the Carlton Hotel St. Moritzto book lunch or dinner in one of their fondue gondolas. Starting this December 8, 2023 until the winter season ends, you can enjoy an intimate feast starring cheese plus a few other Swiss delicacies. Last year the gondolas were such a hit that the St Moritz hotel is bringing them back by popular demand. “Serving cheese fondue and other special menu items offers guests an experiential dining opportunity,” says Constanze Grossman, director of public relations at the Tschuggen Collection.
The Las Vegas Sphere is Sin City's newest entertainment venue and has attracted celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and LeBron James since its September opening.
Since 1931, the Hotel Juana has played host to writers, artists, musicians and cultural greats. Now those free spirits, as well as the rest of us, have a dedicated place to seek inspiration or while away the hours in paradise. Paseo, a bar, restaurant and casual meeting spot - named for the Spanish word for a leisurely stroll - is the latest eatery to grace Juan-les-Pins, the family friendly enclave in tony Antibes, featuring a vibrant garden patio, arresting interior and delicious fare.
Choice Hotels on Wednesday called on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to return to merger talks while publicly responding to concerns Wyndham executives had raised about “execution risk” — including questions about regulatory scrutiny.