People believe that they're gonna get away for the summer. But it may not be to Manchester next July, unless they book hotels now.
All of the Gen Xers who scoffed at the madness surrounding Taylor Swift’s Eras tour are now frantically getting tickets and booking hotel rooms for Oasis’ alleged 2025 UK reunion tour dates in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin. After that, maybe the world. Maybe.
I say “alleged” because July is a long time from now, and us '90s kids know that Noel and Liam Gallagher’s ability to get along for that length of time is tenuous at best.
So now the mad rush for hotel rooms is on, rates are rising and the true diehards want to see the boys on their home turf at Manchester’s Heaton Park on July 11, 12, 19 and 20.
Accusations online are already flying that some Manchester hotels are canceling business on the books for those nights to re-sell the rooms at higher rates.
Apparently the hotels in question are citing “technical errors” for canceling existing bookings and guests are looking back in anger.
Reports of similar foul play popped up here and there during the Eras Tour frenzy, and the common link — unscientific, unproven, only based on my observation — seems to be third-party booking sites. The smattering of articles about these abrupt, event-related cancellations seem to end up with third-party booking sites blaming hotels and vice versa, with reminders to guests to read the fine print, know policies, etc.
I get it: Hoteliers salivate when they see the Eras numbers, and U.K. hoteliers will be studying this playbook starting now.
But be warned: Bad hotel booking and walking behavior won’t be tolerated. Swifties are young enough to take any scorn to the internet effectively, but Oasis fans aren’t afraid to throw elbows when they’re wronged.
Hotel shenanigans are a given when bands and their fans pass through town. But if there's one hotel that gets a pass to say "no" to all Oasis-related antics next year, it's The Columbia in London. The band got a lifetime ban in 1994 for trashing the place. Looks like plenty of rooms are available though for the 2025 dates at Wembley.
Have you ever banned a celebrity from your hotel? I want to hear about it. Email me, or find me on Twitter or LinkedIn.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.