Dublin hotel performance soared during Garth Brooks tour, late bookings were part of the success

The star country music performer, Garth Brooks, has departed Dublin after completing five sold out shows at Croke Parke. In early 2022, STR utilized Forward STAR data to analyze the impact that Brooks’ arrival was due to have on local hotel demand levels. In this most recent review, we added in actualized data to understand the impact on hoteliers as fans descended to the 82,00-seater venue.

Nine months out from the first Brooks performance in Dublin, Forward STAR was showing occupancy on the books peaking at 61%. The demand levels were staggeringly high given how much time was still to elapse before opening night. As the event drew closer, forward-looking data painted an even stronger picture for hoteliers with growth across four consecutive months.

Another interesting observation seen in the Forward STAR data was that pickup, the uptake in bookings from one reporting period to the next, was immensely positive in the first two weeks of September. Therefore, a shorter booking window was indicated for many of the hotel guests that attended this event.

Upon review of the actualized performance, it can be noted that demand levels finished strong, not dropping below 93% between 9 September and 17 September. The two dates with the highest levels of demand were the 10th and 14th of September, at 97% occupancy. However, interestingly, there was no performance on the night of the latter.

When broken down by class, properties in lower pricing categories saw the highest levels of demand across the period. Economy and Upper Midscale both posted an average occupancy of 97% with Luxury expectedly a little lower at 90%.

Average daily rate (ADR) in Dublin from 9-17 September showed significant uplift measured against last year. On 10 September, the day which subsequently produced the highest levels of demand, ADR for Dublin peaked at EUR285. This was more than double the rates achieved in the previous year and comfortably above the pre-pandemic comparables from 2019.

Earlier in 2022, STR’s forward looking data showed the long-awaited return of Garth Brooks was likely to result in high levels of demand. This initial analysis can now be backed up, through the actualized data for Dublin, which highlighted the impressively high levels of heads in beds throughout his duration in the Irish capital city.