We're in the era of big events.
Events are gold for hotels, whether it's an annual Super Bowl, a once-in-a-lifetime global world tour by your favorite musical artist or even a once-in-a-lifetime-we-hope destination wedding (no, I wasn't invited to Taylor and Travis' nuptials).
Events are gold for hotels because they're naturally in-person ... until they're not.
I write this as I look out over the construction of Cosm Cleveland, located just a few blocks from my downtown office. If you're not familiar with Cosm yet, think Las Vegas' Sphere, on a smaller scale. It's an arena-style domed theater venue that allows viewers to watch live sports, concerts, movies and other similar immersive entertainment under a huge screen designed to make you feel like you're right there in person.
This is the next wave in experiential sports and entertainment and it's where the dollars are going. Sony Pictures Entertainment just invested $100 million in Cosm, which has three venues open and more under development. Sphere Entertainment is planning global expansion beyond Las Vegas, and all of this is happening as the music industry worries increasingly about "blue-dot fever," or the inability to sell out concert venues on expensive tours.
As much as I love a live game or concert, I firmly believe the future of these events is inside one of these domes. It's a little sad and also a little exciting, to be honest.
I love live events, and I want other people to love them too — the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, that kind of thing. Nothing replaces seeing your favorite artist play that song — the one they never play live — and then smoking in the alley behind the venue like a normal person. Everyone has a story about seeing a legendary buzzer-beater live, that the rest of us who saw the game on TV can't chime in about. The pandemic showed us just how gray life was without these live events.
Pics or it didn't happen, right? Being there brings bragging rights, the currency of having that little extra bit of information, what you saw, what someone else did, something crazy and unique that went down.
But let's be honest, the experience outside of the actual game or concert can be an expensive drag, between travel costs and time off and sun and heat and ticket prices and crowds and what if it rains and all of that.
Hear me out: This immersive, large-format screen option will be super exciting for fans.
Yes, we will still shell out for the live events that really matter to us. But for the ones we'd never pay to attend in person but still want to see, why not try a Cosm? The user experience sounds great, there's food and drinks, maybe even closer parking!
These venues will increase exposure for fans to teams, artists, events, movies and more that they might not otherwise. And it'll do the same for those artists, as well. Touring is expensive and selling out stadiums ain't easy. Look at all the non-Taylor artists who are embracing residencies or concentrating on festivals instead of tours. Why not give one great show in one place and have the fans watch in their own city?
It'll be about occupancy, not average daily rate. More people watching the broadcast than the actual event — where seats are limited — means the revenue is driven by that.
Hoteliers, you need to think about this if you're not already. Refining your commercial strategy around events has been something many of you have learned and done in the past few years. This will be the next big disruptor for sure.
What do you think? Email me or find me on Twitter or LinkedIn.
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