The global music tourism market is set to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% until 2032 to $13.8 billion, as per the latest research study. This is fueled by the meteoric rise in demand for live events post-pandemic, coupled with the increase in music festivals around the world.
According to conservative estimates, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour alone added $208 million in hotel bookings revenue in the U.S. in 2023 giving a boost to the hotel industry on the back of direct bookings, online hotel booking engines, online travel agencies (OTAs), etc.
Similarly, the global sports hospitality market is set to grow to a size of $ 79.1 billion in 2032 at a CAGR of 20.8%. The data quite clearly shows that there is a gold mine waiting to be capitalized on by the hospitality industry when it comes to leveraging music festivals, concerts, and sports events.
The smart thing to do for a hotel owner would be to ensure that one has strategies and systems in place to help them leverage the world of music and sports tourism. Here are 5 such strategies that would help a hotelier to make the most of such events and drive up direct bookings:
1. Customized promotional packages
Customization is key to meaningful engagement in today’s online world. This holds true for hotels and hotel booking engines as well. A great idea for a customized promotional package is to have the guests present the tickets to the concert or sports event they will be attending and provide special rates for the same. This is a quick and easy way to incentivize your guests to make a direct booking.
2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
As a hotelier, having strong visibility on search engines in the form of Google listings, reviews management, live rates, etc. is of the utmost importance. According to research, 72% of mobile bookings happen within 48 hours of Google searches. This goes to show how utterly important it is to have your search engine marketing in place to drive bookings.
3. Dynamic pricing
When Taylor Swift took her Eras tour to Europe, the average hotel rates went up by 44% compared to the rates before Taylor arrived. This shows the importance of having dynamic pricing built into a hotelier’s system either on the direct booking channel or via a booking engine integration. A pricing system that responds to a spike in demand is essential for a hot owner to benefit from the increased demand.
4. Collaborations and partnerships
Taking a leaf off of the customized promotional packages, another way of standing out for a hotel owner is to collaborate with the organizers of the event to land an exclusive bookings deal thereby directing all the demand to your properties. However, in such situations, it becomes even more important for hotel managers to have a robust booking engine in place that can handle a sudden increase in bookings.
5. Event-based add-ons
If a hotelier is not able to lock in an exclusive booking deal with the event organizers, here is an alternative strategy you can use to enhance your guests’ experience. Add-ons. Providing a shuttle service to and from the venue exclusively for your guests; and creating itineraries for your guests around the event that they can follow can go a long way to improving your guests’ experience.
Here’s a handy checklist for hoteliers who are looking to capitalize on the boom of concerts, sports events, and music festivals:
Booking engines: a hotelier’s jack of all trades
“When there is a gold rush, sell shovels” is an old saying in the world of prudent businessmen. For hoteliers, the gold rush is the staggering boom in the global music and sports tourism market. The shovel, in this gold rush, is the strategy and system that a hotelier puts in place to manage the increase in demand.
A hotel booking engine is a hotelier’s best friend in such a scenario. A booking engine that can create customized promotional packages, help with search engine marketing, provide dynamic pricing, create value add-ons, and manage high demand.
