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Short-Term Rentals

Taylor Swift and Short-Term Rentals: It’s a Love Story

  • Skift Take
    Taylor Swift: A musical extravaganza or Christmas for business?

    Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour made headlines even before it began — by overwhelming booking platform Ticketmaster and drawing attention even from the U.S. Senate. 

    The money and impact on travel was a big story too: Ticket sales alone were expected to generate $590 million within the U.S. In Chicago, hotels had a 97% occupancy with over 44,000 rooms occupied. Some studies found that demand for workers in the vicinity of a stadium can reach close to 10 times normal levels. 

    But what did Taylor Swift’s tour do for short-term rentals in the U.S.? We dug through data from Beyond Pricing, KeyData and AirDNA

    “High level, when the STR industry has revenue falling, Taylor is literally a windfall almost everywhere she goes. Entire cities see double-digit increases in occupancy and ADRs, with the mid-tier cities like Pittsburgh, PA, benefiting the most,” said Jeff Breece, director of revenue management at Beyond Pricing.

    Beyond Pricing

    Beyond found that the top performing markets in terms of occupancy were: Kansas City, MO, Philadelphia, PA and Pittsburgh, PA. And the ones that did well in terms of daily rates were: Pittsburgh, PA, Chicago, IL and Tampa, FL.

    MarketDateOccupancy YoYADR YoY
    PhoenixMarch 17-2.6%5.4%
    Philadelphia, PAMarch 18-3.1%-17.3%
    Philadelphia, PAMay 1225.8%17.0%
    Las Vegas, NVMarch 248.0%-8.2%
    Dallas, TXMarch 3119.0%8.4%
    Tampa, FLApril 1312.8%24.6%
    Houston, TXApril 2113.8%3.8%
    Atlanta, GAApril 287.8%-1.2%
    Nashville, TNMay 519.3%12.3%
    Worcester, MAMay 199.0%12.2%
    Newark, NJMay 2610.0%-1.8%
    Chicago, ILJune 26.4%34.7%
    Detroit, MIJune 917.6%3.8%
    Pittsburgh, PAJune 1625.0%51.5%
    Minneapolis, MNJune 2310.9%9.9%
    Cincinnati, OHJune 3022.6%14.7%
    Kansas City, MOJuly 728.0%3.3%
    Denver, COJuly 1411.5%4.8%
    Seattle, WAJuly 224.5%-2.4%
    South Bay, CAJuly 288.5%-4.6%
    Los Angeles, CAAugust 3-5.9%9.2%
    Los Angeles, CAAugust 80.6%2.5%

    KeyData

    According to KeyData , RevPAR grew by 88% annually attributable Swift’s Eras Tour.

    Source: KeyData

    The 20 cities that hosted the Eras tour saw revenue per available room go up by 28% and occupancies by 12%. 

    Source: KeyData

    AirDNA

    According to data from AirDNA, the total revenue impact from Taylor Swift was $27.3 million in the United States. Los Angeles ($6.5 million), Nashville ($3.8 million), and Phoenix ($2.7 million) saw the most significant revenue lifts, driven in large part by greater demand for short-term rental stays but also by higher average daily rates (ADRs). The most subtle revenue impacts were seen in San Jose-Santa Clara ($160,000) and Jersey City-Newark ($189,000). 

    Source: AirDNA

    Swift’s fandom is large enough that hosts in most cities didn’t need to raise prices. There was enough demand to go around filling rooms. 

    Source: AirDNA

    Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to remove a KeyData estimate for the Eras Tour contribution to the short-term rental industry.

    Photo Credit: Taylor Swift performed at Gillette Stadium in May as part of the US Era's Tour. Source: Stephen Mease/Unsplash
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