Taylor Swift performs in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 30, 2023, during her Eras tour.
Taylor Hill/tas23 | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Taylor Swift is providing a gold rush for the hotel industry.
The “Cruel Summer” singer’s attention-grabbing “Eras” tour has pushed up revenue for hotels in cities across the U.S., according to data from investment firm Bernstein. And the so-called Swift-lift could be seen around the globe as the tour goes international.
“This has been a notable boost to the hotel industry,” Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke wrote in a note to clients Friday, using the term “Swiftonomics.”
Average revenue generated per room was more than 4 percentage points above the national benchmark in U.S. states during the months of Swift’s visits, Bernstein data shows. These states saw revenue per room up about 7% on average in the months of her stops compared with the same periods a year prior. (Revenue generated per room is calculated by dividing the total hotel revenue by number of available rooms, regardless of whether they were occupied.)
Much of the revenue jump can be attributed to higher prices for rooms, Clarke said, but the number of bookings also improved in many cases. In the most extreme example, Nashville saw hotel occupancy rise more than 30% and room rates increase more than 50% on concert nights. Revenue per room more than doubled the weekend Swift was in town.
Swift’s aid also buoyed U.S. hotels amid a boom among Americans in international tourism, Clarke noted. But he said other countries will have their chance at feeling the Swift-induced bump given the tour has an international leg.
Meanwhile, Bernstein found a relatively muted — though still notable — impact on hotels from Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour.
Bernstein’s analysis follows months of anecdotal reports about the economic boost from the tours, as well as other popular culture events this summer. The concerts have caught the attention of Wall Street and the Federal Reserve, which specifically noted high hotel bookings during Swift’s stop in Philadelphia.
“Despite the slowing recovery in tourism in the region overall, one contact highlighted that May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the onset of the pandemic,” Fed officials wrote in the July beige book, which summarizes economic activity. That’s “in large part due to an influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city.”
Indeed, Clarke said occupancy was 11% higher in Philadelphia during the nights of Swift’s tour, while revenue per available room was up 59% on average.
Swift announced last week that a filmed version of her tour would premiere in theaters in October.
