These are the global music tours making the biggest waves in hospitality markets this year

From legacy rock icons like AC/DC to modern chart-toppers like The Weeknd, 2025 is packed with major artists hitting the road. But which tours are truly moving the needle for local hospitality markets?

We analyzed the tours creating the most significant shifts in hotel pricing and demand—and what these trends reveal about strategic opportunities for hoteliers responding to live events.

Oasis: The biggest hospitality impact of the year

The reunion of the mercurial Gallagher brothers is generating unprecedented excitement throughout the UK and Ireland, creating the biggest boom in local hospitality markets among global tours this year.

Fans across the British Isles immediately jumped at the opportunity to see the legendary Oasis live – the tour sold out comfortably on the day of release. 

All venues across the tour are major stadiums or parks with capacities rarely below 50,000, and typically closer to 100,000, particularly in the UK. The band will perform across multiple days in most locations, with five dates announced for both Manchester and London. As a result, these concerts are extraordinary demand generators, typically elevating UK markets to record highs.

Relative to 2025’s average hotel prices, room rates are soaring:

• +279% in Cardiff

• +213% in Manchester

• +208% in Edinburgh

• +179% in Dublin

Peak nightly rates in these cities are $485 in Dublin, $516 in Manchester, $754 in Cardiff and $808 in Edinburgh making Oasis the clear leader in hospitality impact from a musical tour in 2025.  

The tour spans Asia-Pacific, North America and Mexico, and although there has been a more muted response outside of the UK, it has still had a significant impact on hotel prices in places like Melbourne (+81%) and Sydney (+61%).

The Oasis phenomenon illustrates that local fanbase size and accommodation availability are key factors determining a cultural event’s market impact.

Cities like Cardiff and Manchester, with their proximity to the band’s roots and relatively limited hotel capacity, experience dramatic price effects, while London’s impact is tempered by its vast accommodation inventory. Similarly, Tokyo sees limited impact due to a comparatively smaller fanbase.

Ed Sheeran: Consistent demand across mid-sized markets

Ed Sheeran may not bring the same headlines as Oasis’s reunion, but his impact is just as important.

Like Oasis, Sheeran will be playing multiple dates in large stadiums, and also visits some smaller hospitality markets, leading to major pricing gains in multiple locations. 

In Wrocław, Poland, room rates have surged 204% during Sheeran’s tour stop. This pattern repeats across his European dates, where he strategically selects less saturated markets with limited hotel inventory, causing demand to spike dramatically.

For hoteliers in these cities, Sheeran’s tour represents a critical revenue opportunity. His reliable drawing power and venue choices make any city on his itinerary worthy of strategic planning and optimized pricing.

Beyoncé: Selective spikes for cowboy carter

Beyoncé’s genre-shifting Cowboy Carter tour brings a new sound—and a more selective hospitality impact. While fans are showing up, the hotel pricing response is mixed, with only a handful of cities seeing major uplifts:

• +76% in Chicago

• +64% in Paris

• +60% in Atlanta

• +25% in Houston

Prices in Paris peak at $384 per night. But in larger, higher-inventory cities like LA, London, and New York, the impact is minimal. Dynamic ticket pricing and higher base prices may be tempering enthusiasm – and hotel bookings.

Metallica: Strong gains in Australasia and secondary U.S. cities

Veteran rockers Metallica are wrapping up their massive M72 tour with final dates across Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.— and it’s translating into notable hospitality gains. 

The tour marks Metallica’s return to Australia for the first time in over a decade, causing considerable interest, anticipation and sales. We therefore see considerable uplifts to hospitality markets across all Australian and New Zealand tour dates. 

• In Auckland, hotel prices more than double during the show, reaching $281

• Uplifts range from +45% in Perth to +67% in Brisbane

Other hotel markets benefitting include Columbus, Nashville and Tampa, with Nashville seeing the highest overall room rates among these locations, as befits the Music City, with 83% growth above average prices, leaving the typical room costing $379 at the peak point.

Live music still moves markets – but less predictably

While big-name tours still create strong hotel demand, not every show guarantees a sellout or price surge, with locations and dates for all of the above shows not seeing major pricing growth while these artists are playing. 

Consumers are becoming more selective, with high ticket prices and cost-of-living concerns dampening enthusiasm in some markets. While there was major growth in the post-pandemic period, consumers are now coming up against affordability limits, with budgets squeezed by cost-of-living increases and savings diminished. Meanwhile, live tickets have become noticeably more expensive. Ticket price inflation went from 3% to 4% a year pre-pandemic to 9.9% afterward according to figures from Billboard Boxscore quoted by the BBC. 

The list of major artists who have struggled to achieve sell-outs is now lengthening, ranging from Drake to Kendrick Lamar to Guns n’ Roses. In March 2025 Linkin Park announced that they were going to downsize their LA show from a 56,000-capacity venue to one with 18,000 after seeing lower-than-anticipated demand. 

Even the normally imperious Beyonce has seen sluggish ticket sales relative to her normal pace and avid fanbase, with tickets available at multiple locations and dates at the time of writing, and reports of resale ticket prices even trending downwards. 

We wrote extensively about Taylor Swift and how her Eras Tour was able to push up hotel prices, including in markets with massive inventory. This appears to be a high watermark and we likely won’t see something in that ballpark again in the near future.

Conclusion: Let data guide you through the noise

Live events can deliver incredible boosts to local hotel markets – but the impact is no longer guaranteed. And not every market responds in the same way. 

As we’ve seen with the likes of Oasis, Ed Sheeran, and Metallica, some tours drive massive spikes in demand – while others barely move the needle. What makes the difference isn’t just the name on the ticket – it’s the context: the size of the local fanbase, the venue, the timing, and the shape of the local hotel market.

This is why relying solely on historical performance or intuition falls short. To maximize these opportunities, hoteliers need real-time insight into market conditions, not just retrospective analysis.

Data provides the decisive competitive advantage.

With access to real-time demand signals, pricing trends, and local market patterns, you can anticipate demand surges, adjust rates proactively, and make decisions with clarity and confidence.

Whether navigating a hometown band’s return, a one-off festival, or a global superstar’s stadium tour, success depends on identifying opportunities before your competitors—and having the tools to capitalize on them immediately.

With our industry-leading Market Insight or our wider suite of business intelligence tools tailored specifically to hotels and short-term rentals, Lighthouse provides the clarity to do just that – so you can stay ahead of demand, every step of the way.

About Lighthouse

Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) is the leading commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry. We transform complexity into confidence by providing actionable market insights, business intelligence, and pricing tools that maximize revenue growth. We continually innovate to deliver the best platform for hospitality professionals to price more effectively, measure performance more efficiently, and understand the market in new ways.

Trusted by over 65,000 hotels in 185 countries, Lighthouse is the only solution that provides real-time hotel and short-term rental data in a single platform. We strive to deliver the best possible experience with unmatched customer service. We consider our clients as true partners – their success is our success.

This article originally appeared on Lighthouse.