Hurricanes Helene and Milton blew through Florida, and a week later, in mid-October, Taylor Swift stormed into the Sunshine State for a weekend of sold-out shows at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Taylor Swift’s worldwide Eras Tour began the final leg of its record-setting, 2024 run in Miami, which made it one of the most desirable destinations for those traveling to attend a Swift concert.
“Music migration” is a tourism industry financial phenomenon dubbed the “Swift Lift.”
Loews Miami Beach Hotel and Loews Coral Gables Hotel welcomed visiting Swift fans and locals who were eager to join the party.
“It is incredible how Taylor Swift moves the local economy during a concert stop,” said Mutlu Kucuk.
Kucuk is the complex managing director for Loews Miami Beach Hotel and Loews Coral Gables Hotel. These swank and fun luxury resorts are iconic Miami mainstays located in the most desirable parts of town.
“Because of Taylor Swift, we had more flights added to the destination of Miami. Our Loews Miami Beach Hotel was sold out and our average room rate was higher by as much as 30 to 35 percent.”
It is a number supported by the industry research conducted by the esteemed Virtuoso Travel Network.
“Our data showed, on average, a 28-percent increase in hotel average daily rates in Eras Tour cities on concert nights; and a 139-percent increase in hotel booking volume,” said Misty Belles, Virtuoso’s vice president of global public relations.
Living Proof and a Family Affair
Belles, herself, was part of the “Swift Lift” because she and her daughter Maddie traveled to Miami to catch the concert.
“We live in Washington DC, which was not a stop on the Eras Tour, so we knew we would need to travel to see the concert. While there were closer stops, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Miami came with the opportunity to make it a girl’s weekend with spa and swimming pool time…and a little shopping…before heading to the concert of a lifetime.”
Mutlu Kucuk said his daughters, ages 9 and 13, gave him a crash course on Taylor Swift to help him and the Loews team roll out the red carpet for visiting Swift fans, resort guests and locals by creating lively musical activations throughout the weekend.
“We honored and celebrated Taylor Swift by throwing an Eras Tour Pre-Party in “Bar Collins” featuring an on-site performance the most-listened-to Taylor Swift podcast in the U.S.
Our mixologist created cocktails and mocktails named for Taylor Swift songs,” said Kucuk. “Shades of Greige,” “Make the Whole Place Shimmer,” and “Roll Your Eyes, Angel,” garnished with Swift’s portrait, were available all weekend, along with Swift’s favorite cocktail: “The French Blonde.”
Taylor Swift Extended Stay
Loews Hotels even extended the experience on the morning after the concerts. “Loews Coral Gables at American Kitchen staged a ‘Swiftie Sunday Brunch’ with live music to thank people for coming and tell them ‘The party is not over yet!’”
A local poet penned complimentary prose for the guests in the spirit of Swift’s album “The Tortured Poet’s Department.”
Loews embraced Swift’s fans – the “Swifties” – by giving them a way to show their spirit and be a part of the fun even if they did not have concert tickets, the aftermarket price of which Kucuk estimated at north of $1,500 and even at that, likely not available.
“Taylor Swift is one of the strongest demand-generators for our city, rivaling world events such as the Formula 1 race.”
An International Affair
World cities also welcome the American singing star and her traveling fans, according to Virtuoso’s Belles.
“During Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop In Vienna, Austria, for instance, hotels were at a 98-percent capacity with the rates being double (or more) compared to similar summer weekends (on average). Her European concerts, including the London stop at which Kansas City Chief star Travis Kelce, Swift’s NFL beau, made a surprise appearance on stage, led to an estimated revenue of 100 million Euros spent in hotels, restaurants and on public transportation by concert goers.”
Virtuoso.com travel advisors are custom itinerary experts who can direct travelers to the best cities visit to see Swift’s shows; arrange the perfect hotels at which to stay near the concert venues; secure smooth, private transportation to the stadium and back; suggest and schedule accompanying amenities like shopping, restaurants and nightlife to enhance the getaway; and maybe even score special seats.
Belles even brought the Swift spirit to 2024’s Virtuoso Travel Week conference in Las Vegas, where she gifted some attendees logoed “Swiftie” bracelets bearing the Virtuoso logo and year.
Inside the Stadium…
Photo by Misty Belles
After Swift’s Sunday night Miami concert, Belles, in an Uber ride back to her North Miami Beach digs at Acqualina Resort in Sunny Isles with her daughter, offered a review of the experience.
“I am still in awe, though Maddie is passed out asleep. I have been to many concerts, but nothing comes close to this. I have never been in the presence of so many happy, kind, positive, people. We are proud Swifties!”
61,000 people filled the football stadium in Miami for more than 3.5 hours, and even in the rain, Misty and Maddie were glowing.
“It is a memory with Maddie I will hold in my heart forever,” she said. “We would follow her to every tour stop if we could!”
Loving Loews
Photo by Harrison Shiels
Loews Miami Beach Hotel is at the most advantageous, art deco spot right on Miami Beach. The high-rise hotel and Preston’s Market, one of its restaurants, look over the Atlantic, which is just beyond its beautiful, tiered swimming pool area and luxury cabanas and daybeds called SOAK. There is often live music at the pool,
Step past Loews valet parking onto Ocean Avenue and you are at the top of vibrant Lincoln Road, the time-honored outdoor mall full of fountains, retro-architecture, restaurants, hookah and cigar lounges, busking musicians, and fashionable boutique shops.
Walk south from Loews’ front step – or via the backside promenade shaded by palm trees along the beach – and you step directly onto Ocean Avenue’s neon-accented “Deco Drive” explosion of bars booming with live music, late-night deejays and dancing, oceanfront weight-lifting and volleyball, and the type-of “parrot on the shoulder” people-watching only South Beach can provide.
Loews Coral Gables Hotel
The thoughtful, new Plaza Coral Gables is anchored by Loews Coral Gables Hotel, 242 guestrooms amidst indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, high-end retail shops, office space and touches of art.
Loews loves families, and both the Beach Hotel and Coral Gables are hip enough for adults and comfortable for families at the same time.
Business lunches coexist with live music on the lawn during Social Fridays and happy hour at the Americana Bar. Young professionals convene throughout the complex at the close of business – and sometimes close the bar.
Loews Coral Gables embraces holidays with spirit such as the pop-ups and themed menu created for Dia de Los Muertos just after Halloween.
The rooftop pool provides a sweeping view of Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Little Havana and Miami Beach beyond. Loews is close to the airport, University of Miami, and just at the foot of the Miracle Mile, which is accessible via a complimentary trolley.
Next Stop – New Orleans
If Miami was not enough of a party destination, the spooky city of New Orleans brought Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour for three shows in the Super Dome on Halloween weekend.
“More than 150,000 fans from across the world will drive huge business to New Orleans. Hotel rooms in the city will be sold out,” according to Walter Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination marketing and sales organization for the New Orleans tourism industry.
“Not only will the Eras tour bring big business to our hotels, but it will also help fill our restaurants, bars, and other attractions and businesses that will give visitors a world-class experience.”
In the span of six months, New Orleans will host the Eras Tour, Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. New Orleans and Company compiled a list of places Taylor Swift visited on previous visits to New Orleans, such as the Hotel Saint Vincent and Bywater Bakery, which made the cake for Swift’s 33rd birthday in New Orleans. She also celebrated by seeing a show at Preservation Hall – a necessary New Orleans experience.
Loews New Orleans Hotel
Just as in Miami, Loews New Orleans Hotel made its “whole place shimmer,” to quote one of her song titles, in celebration of Taylor Swift. The dazzling hotel created a bedazzling glitter station; a 360-degree photobooth; and not only the “13: A Taylor Swift Fan Podcast” that performed in Miami but also radio personalities from the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show.
New Orleans created some of the most historic, time-honored cocktails, such as the gin fizz and The Sazerac, and Loews, therefore, developed Taylor Swift-inspired cocktails, though their line-up was a little different than Loews Miami Beach and Loews Coral Gables, according to Ashley Svarney, Loews New Orleans Hotel’s area director of public relations.
In a town that asks “Who ‘Dat?” (gonna beat ‘dem Saints) Loews dared to dabble in the team colors of the Kansas City Chiefs for a cocktail called “Lover,” named for Swift’s hit song and, it seems, her NFL beau Travis Kelce, who would love to reach that same Super Dome for this season’s Super Bowl.
In fact, such is the connection between Swift and Kelce (and their fans) that the Miami Dolphins Stadium before Swift’s concert, showed the Kansas City Chiefs NFL game live on the big screen. Music fans became football fans…or, at least, Travis Kelce fans.
“There were picnic tables full of ‘Swifties’ eating, trading friendship bracelets, talking about which surprise songs they were hoping for, and watching the Chiefs game,” Belles revealed. “One of these things is not like the other, but somehow it all comes together.”
Read more of Michael Patrick’s work at The Travel Tattler and contact him at [email protected] Order his book Travel Tattler – Less Than Torrid Tales at https://amzn.to/3Qm9FjN
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