Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has boosted local economies throughout the United States and uplifted hotel revenue over her concert dates. However, in the San Francisco Bay Area, other music acts generated higher hotel occupancy and revenue per available room.
That's significant because this measurement, known as RevPAR, is a topline performance indicator in the hotel industry that combines hotel occupancy and hotel rates into one.
Dead & Co performed their final concerts at Oracle Park in mid-July, with the original two sold-out shows inspiring the group to add a third concert. More tie-dye shirt fans, popularly known as "Deadheads," filled hotel rooms than glitter- and lavender-haze-dressed Taylor Swift fans.
Over the Dead & Co event weekend, the San Francisco/San Mateo Market occupancy was above 80%, and Saturday reached 90%, representing the highest Saturday night occupancy and RevPAR since 2019. Hotel rates were nearly $240, the highest Saturday night rate of the year.
Hotels in the neighborhood surrounding Oracle Park reached an occupancy level of 92% with an average daily rate, ADR, of $263, representing the highest July Saturday ADR since 2018. In this area, Saturday average hotel rates from May through the middle of August were slightly above $185. Only three summer Saturdays surpassed $200. The Dead & Co. concert and Outside Lands Music Festival were two of them.
The annual three-day Outside Lands Music Festival at Golden Gate Park occurred in August. With only a handful of small hotels surrounding the park, most overnight visitors opted for the Market Street and Nob Hill areas. In both areas, Saturday occupancy was around 94% for the Outside Lands Music Festival. However, hotel rates were slightly lower than the Dead & Co. Saturday night, resulting in the second-highest RevPAR Saturday hotel performance levels for both areas.
At the end of July, Taylor Swift performed two nights at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Some significant events at Levi’s Stadium, such as the Super Bowl, induce hotel demand in San Francisco hotels; however, this was not the case for the enchanting Eras Tour. In San Francisco, the concert nights achieved a 77% occupancy and a $196 average daily rate, representing a year-over-year decline.
Still, Santa Clara hotels benefited from the Taylor Swift effect, with Friday and Saturday nights reaching the highest occupancy and ADR levels this year. In Santa Clara, hotel occupancy was 91% and 88%, respectively. The average rate for Friday and Saturday was above $230, nearly a $100 lift compared to average Friday and Saturday hotel rates from May through August in Santa Clara.
RevPAR rose from the base of $93 to $208 on the concert nights, representing a 124% increase. While the other events experienced higher performance levels, the Taylor Swift concert provided a more extensive lift in the immediate area than the other music events did.