As Taylor Swift fans prepare to descend on New Orleans this weekend, many hotels are allegedly seizing the opportunity to steeply raise rates and cancel fans’ reservations last minute.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill posted a statement to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday warning fans about these potential scams. She said that hotels taking advantage of fans is wrong.
“State consumer protection law prohibits unfair and deceptive practices,” Murrill said in her post. “We encourage anyone with a legitimate complaint against a hotel to file a consumer dispute with our office.”
The Eras Tour’s brief stint in New Orleans is expected to cause a huge economic boost, as it has for Swift’s previous shows. According to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Swift’s concerts in Miami, Florida, from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20 generated over 10% of an increase in hotel occupancy and rates. This boom is seen consistently in every city Swift’s tour visits.
However, this anticipated economic boost is said to be prompting hotels to unfairly upcharge for new bookings and cancel existing reservations, leaving out-of-town fans stranded before the concert.
New Orleans hotels are expected to be at maximum capacity from Friday, Oct. 25 to Sunday, Oct. 27, according to Kelly Schulz, spokesperson for New Orleans and Company, the city’s marketing organization. As of Oct. 6, only 676 rooms out of about 26,000 throughout New Orleans are still available for Saturday, she told The Times-Picayune.
Issues with booking rooms have been a well-known problem among Swift’s fans, known as ‘Swifties.’ One Swiftie named Rebecca Fox took it upon herself to solve this issue in New Orleans.
Over the course of a year, Fox booked 191 rooms at a Holiday Inn near the Superdome. After struggling to book a hotel for her own Eras Tour show, she wanted to ensure fellow Swifties had somewhere safe to stay for a reasonable price.
Schulz believes that no recent concert has drawn as many people to New Orleans as The Eras Tour. The Big Easy may be known for its parties, but it has never seen a Swiftie celebration quite like this.