EDITOR'S COMMENT
Taylor Swift's global tour and sporting spectacles such as Euro 2024 and the Olympics have demonstrated the extent to which major events can impact the hospitality sector and stimulate local economies. Now after English rock band Oasis announced that it would reform for a 14-date tour next summer, a similar hospitality boom is anticipated for the UK in 2025.
The tour, which will be held in stadia in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin, is likely to spark a surge in accommodation demand, while merchandise sales, travel bookings and shopping will also factor into how much the shows boost the local economy in those cities. Early estimates suggest that Oasis' run of shows could generate £350-400 million for the UK economy - for context, Swift's Eras Tour, comprising 15 UK stadium shows this summer, was said to be worth £1 billion for the economy according to a Barclays report.
For the STR industry, property managers, owners and hosts will need to be agile to anticipate guest booking behaviour, be that shorter booking windows or last-minute bookings, to ensure that they optimise their rates and maximise their revenue when there is an influx of supply on the market. The situation in Edinburgh could be more unpredictable, however, given the strengthening of regulations in the capital and the fact that the Oasis tour will coincide with the city's annual Fringe Festival.
While dynamic pricing is nothing new and allowed under consumer protection laws, the outpouring of criticism from ticketless fans who queued online for hours has been just as loud as the fans who will be at Oasis' shows. The UK government had already announced a consultation into ticket resale websites for the autumn, and it will now also look into the practice of dynamic pricing due to the "depressing" and "vastly inflated" cost of tickets - if regulation is introduced, perhaps it will extend to how hosts can price their rental properties.
• Our STRz webinars are back up and running as we bring you a session on 'M&A vision: Who, what, where, when and why?' tomorrow at 4pm BST [Tuesday 3 September]. Our expert panel includes Richard Vaughton [Yes Consulting], Morgann Lesné [Cambon Partners], Jon Weibrecht [AGC Partners] and Philipp Rohweder [NUMA] - sign up here.
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