Events like the Super Bowl are a boon for hotels in the host city. head of sales at HHM Hotels, said hoteliers can’ t lose sight of making money past the room.“ We focus heavily on ancillary revenue— whether it’ s through on-site activations, parking, food and beverage partnerships or event-themed specials,” she said.“ We’ ve even had requests for billboards placed on the side of the hotel— that’ s happened.”
HHM follows a“ Special Events Playbook” that outlines processes, required approvals and responsibilities across departments. It ensures alignment and accountability, Johnson said, allowing the company to fully capitalize on every opportunity.
Katie Krieger, EVP, asset management for JLL’ s Hotels & Hospitality Group, said the impact of a major event on a lodging market is dependent on both stay pattern and seasonality of a given market. For example, she said, the impact of a Taylor Swift concert would be felt much less in the middle of Spring Break in a southern climate than it would be in the Midwest in January.
In addition, said Krieger, lodging inventory is a major factor when considering pricing power: A market with 20,000 rooms available will behave much differently than a market with 120,000 rooms.
CONSIDERING COMPRESSION The kind of occupancy resulting from a Taylor Swift concert or a Super Bowl creates compression, a surge in occupancy and commensurately higher prices. At the point of compression, said Simon Chapman, complex general manager at The Benjamin Royal Sonesta and The Fifty Sonesta Hotel in New York,“ We begin to see guests booking outside their usual preferred areas, and secondary or tertiary properties benefit.” The hotel’ s teams, he said, meet and align weekly to fine-tune rates and assess demand drivers.
Big events create a ripple effect even for properties not in the immediate vicinity of the venue.“ We are currently working with our revenue, sales, marketing and operations teams to plan for the FIFA World Cup next year,” Chapman said. The
WE FOCUS HEAVILY ON ANCILLARY REVENUE— [ FROM ] ON-SITE ACTIVATIONS TO EVENT- THEMED SPECIALS
– LINDSEY JOHNSON, SVP, HEAD OF SALES, HHM HOTELS
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