Article by SiteMinder bis January 9, 2025
The wave of concert announcements by international music acts this year has stirred excitement not just among fans, but hoteliers.
The mad rush for tickets to see the likes of Coldplay, Oasis and Kylie Minogue has triggered a sharp demand for hotel rooms wherever these artists are performing. And, this phenomenon has extended beyond concerts. Major public gatherings like the solar eclipse viewing in the US and sporting events like the UEFA Euro in Germany have also drawn significant attention to hotels, as local and international travellers flock to attend these events.
Event-driven travel is undeniably booming, with its influence seen in hotel occupancy and room rates. As Allied Market Research reports, the global events industry is projected to reach US$2 trillion by 2032 – nearly doubling its 2019 size of US$1.1 trillion – suggesting that events are set to become an even more important revenue source for the hospitality industry.
While events have long been a reliable driver of hotel bookings, their growing importance in the hospitality industry is now being driven by shifting dynamics of supply and demand. As Fabian Bartnick, Founder of revenue management solutions Infinito and PerfectCheck, points out: “Everybody is now looking to monetise events … and someone is controlling their supply.” In other words, key players – be it governments, airlines or event organisers – now play a crucial role in deciding when, where and how events happen and are made available, often creating scarcity amid growing demand.
Citing the Singapore leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as an example of controlled scarcity, Bartnick explains how the local government effectively controlled the supply of Swift’s concert in Southeast Asia by securing an exclusive contract with the artist, creating a unique market where the event’s limited availability enabled other business sectors to charge higher prices.
“You and I might think $700 for a ticket is crazy,” says Bartnick. “But if you are a Swifty living in Thailand or the Philippines and have the chance to see her in your backyard, you’re going. So, the entire spectrum of revenue management that is happening [for events] has widened from just ticket sales. Airlines and hotels have capitalised on the trend.”
Changing attitudes to travel
The rise of event travel is also closely linked to the influx of travellers arriving en masse at these events, as seen with Swift’s tour. Bartnick notes that this shift points to a deeper change in attitudes towards travel, where consumers are increasingly prioritising life-enriching experiences.
“After Covid, there was a fundamental shift in what it actually means to have a certain kind of freedom, to have a certain ability to travel, see the world and do something,” he explains.
Additionally, with travel becoming more accessible, more people are choosing to travel for events simply because they now can. Pablo Torres, hospitality consultant and founder of Torres Consulting, explains: “It’s not just that more events are happening. It’s also because more people can now afford to attend them.”
Maximising demand through dynamic pricing
The control of event supply by a handful of key players, combined with a public more eager to travel than ever, has pushed hotels to turn to technology to capture this demand effectively. Revenue management solutions offering market intelligence have been indispensable, and the need is clear; hotels must rely on tools that allow them to keep track of demand round-the-clock, especially for events attracting a more global audience.
“No human, regardless of their experience or skill, can think faster than a machine,” says Torres. “There are tools on the market that already show, for example, the increase in searches and flights to your destination, demand for bookings and the events you might have in your city. You could do that manually and spend the entire day compiling the information, or you can press a button and have a dashboard on your screen and then decide.”
With this information, innovations in hotel tech have given properties the confidence to venture into dynamic pricing, a strategy in which hotels adjust room rates daily or within the day based on real-time demand, allowing them to maximise occupancy and revenue during events. This strategy has become ubiquitous across industries – from airlines to delivery apps – and, as Klaus Kohlmayr, Chief Evangelist and Development Officer at IDeaS, suggests, it’s high time that hotel revenue managers embrace it fully, now that consumers are more familiar with the concept. Indeed, SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2025 indicates that more than 6-in-10 travellers globally agree that hotels should be able to adjust their rates during peak demand periods.
“Depending on the type of hotel, you could see measurable revenue uplift just by adopting dynamic pricing,” Kohlmayr explains. “From a consumer standpoint, dynamic pricing allows you to pay a lower rate when demand is low, [in the same way] that you accept paying a higher rate when there is high demand. Consumers have been educated on that and they understand that [this strategy] happens in businesses all over the world.”
Avoiding the pitfalls of price gouging
But despite the revenue-generating advantages that dynamic pricing offers, it often attracts scrutiny. Certain ride-sharing services have come under fire for price surges during public emergencies, while ticketing companies have faced backlash for dramatically inflating prices in response to high-demand events in recent months. These instances have caused the line between fair price adjustments and unethical price gouging to blur.
Shannon Knapp, Founder and Director of hotel consultancy SKNapp Consulting, says: “Dynamic pricing is getting an unfair bad rap. A fundamental flaw in retail industry applications of dynamic pricing or demand-based pricing is when they don’t institute a cap or a ‘ceiling’ price point the way we do in hotels, so as to prevent prices shooting up to eleventy jillion dollars when Taylor Swift or Oasis announces dates. The best hotel revenue management systems have configurable ceiling settings to prevent this.”
Knapp adds: “When it comes to dynamic pricing, revenue managers need to remember: price gouging is exploitative and takes advantage of disadvantage, especially during crises. Whereas price optimisation adjusts rates in response to high-demand entertainment events with a ceiling rate configured to ensure responsible application.”
This highlights the need for a thoughtful and data-based approach to pricing, rather than simply reacting to fluctuating demand. Price adjustments should not only respond to market conditions but also consider how guests perceive the fairness and value of the rates offered. In short, dynamic pricing isn’t just about setting prices.
“Unfortunately, the skill set that we have in the industry thinks that dynamic pricing is like playing yo-yo by letting prices go up and down,” shares Bartnick. “Dynamic pricing is a tactical lever with many facets at play. We need to understand how our rates impact pricing power, and our sales and marketing efforts.”
Value-driven strategy
Bartnick adds that the ‘lifetime value of a customer’ must also be factored in when carrying out dynamic pricing for events, keeping in mind loyal, repeat customers and even guests from account-based clients. Balancing dynamic pricing for event customers with these long-term relationships allows hotels to capture immediate revenue without risking future business from high-value guests.
Importantly, at the core of dynamic pricing is the value hotels can offer to guests beyond the room. While revenue managers may have the flexibility to adjust their rates once significant demand from events is detected, their pricing strategies should be paired with meaningful offerings that provide real value for money.
Torres explains, “If your only offer is the same room that cost 20 times less the day before, most customers will find it unfair. Why don’t you include added value? You can create a package with the concert organisers, include transfers to the venue where the event is taking place or include breakfast. Add value in your pricing that guests will find meaningful, so they feel they’re getting a fair price.”
Agility at a time of uncertainty
The rise of event travel signals a future that will only see more demand-driving trends impacting hotels, now that “the macroeconomic factors for hospitality and tourism are very positive”, Kohlmayr points out. “There are a hundred million people every year that are entering the middle class. If you’re in the hotel business, you have to think about the longer term opportunities to tap into that.” This aligns with findings from SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2025, which reveals that 72% of travellers globally will be travelling internationally in 2025, and that almost all (92%) plan to spend at least the same amount or more on their accommodation.
Nonetheless, as travel becomes even more dynamic, the industry is expected to operate in an increasingly uncertain environment. In this regard, Bartnick emphasises that revenue managers have to be more comfortable with the uncertainty brought by emerging travel trends.
And, it all starts with agility.
“Agility is the name of the game. We now have a game where we don’t really know who’s playing or what the rules are. Airlines have become really good at controlling supply of flights, much like how the Singaporean Government managed to control Taylor Swift’s tour location. In many instances, hotels will be at the receiving end of these shifts. Some factors are outside your power, but if they happen to be coming your way, then you have to be fast enough to monetise,” he says.
Revenue managers must then be more reflective about their strategies, particularly for unpredictable, high-demand events. Rather than relying solely on historical data or going by a rigid ‘wait and see’ approach, changing pricing decisions when it’s too late, they need to set expectations even before they set their revenue strategies and regularly re-evaluate their decisions.
“We’re not looking at cause and effect at the moment when setting dynamic pricing strategies,” notes Bartnick. “We don’t think ahead – that if I throw a ball at a certain velocity, it’ll come back in a specific spot.”
He adds, “That’s why we need to do [away with] that fundamental, rigid mindset in revenue management and become more agile, more experimental. Nothing is created in the comfort zone. Revenue management itself is a field of experimentation.”
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