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Something In The Water 2023 Sold Fewer Hotel Rooms Than 2019, But Operators Earned Around $1.3M More In Revenue

Hotels across Hampton Roads sold fewer rooms and had lower occupancy rates during this year's Something in the Water festival compared to the inaugural 2019 event, according to information from the STR global hospitality data and analytics company.

However, hoteliers still had plenty of reasons to be happy during Pharrell Williams' music festival, earning around $1.3 million more in revenue than in 2019.

"The data tells me that for some reason or another, SITW 2023 was not as a big deal as it was in 2019," said Vinod Agarwal, an Old Dominion University economist.

In 2019, hotel operators across Hampton Roads reaped the benefits of the first Something in the Water as nightly room prices near the festival stage climbed over $1,000.

While better than the surrounding weekends, hotel industry performance on April 28-29, 2023 — the Friday and Saturday of the three-day festival — did not reach those heights, according to Agarwal's analysis of the STR data.

In 2019, Hampton Roads hotels were about 91% full on Friday, April 26 and around 92% full on Saturday, April 27. For the two nights, hotels had an about 10% occupancy increase compared to the average performance of the previous two weekends and the following weekend.

In 2023, area hotels reached just about 76% occupancy on Friday and around 77% on Saturday. For the weekend, hotel occupancy actually decreased 4% compared to the average of two weekends prior and one following.

The number of rooms sold during the two weekends reflect the same trend. In 2023, Hampton Roads hotel operators sold 29,020 rooms on Friday and 29,378 on Saturday — down 4,766 rooms or about 14% compared to the Friday in 2019 and down 4,811 rooms or about 14% compared to Saturday.

Additionally, the total amount of Hampton Roads hotel rooms grew from 37,047 in 2019 to 38,332 in 2023.

Despite those declines, Hampton Roads hotels earned more money in 2023 than in 2019. On Friday, hotels brought in about $5.6 million, up around $500,000 or 10% compared to that day in 2019. On Saturday, they earned around $5.9 million, an increase of about $600,000 or 11% compared to 2019.

Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot

An aerial view of Virginia Beach's Oceanfront as seen Friday, January 6, 2023.

Agarwal said the decline in sales could indicate the festival did not sell as many tickets as in 2019, or that festivalgoers were turned off by high ticket prices, especially at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The average daily rate for rooms there climbed above $300 on both Friday and Saturday in 2023, according to STR.

When asked about attendance figures for Something in the Water, a Virginia Beach city spokesperson did not provide the information in time for publication. The spokesperson said the city will be releasing a detailed economic impact study on summer festivals this fall, which would include attendance.

John Zirkle, president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association, also blamed the weather. Storms delayed the schedule on Friday and Saturday and rained out Sunday performances. Weather also played a factor in 2019, cancelling Friday performances.

He also said potential attendees might be hesitant after the event was held in Washington, D.C., in 2022. Then, concertgoers said the event was overcrowded and lacked access to water, according to a report by D.C. Radio station WTOP.

Still, Zirkle said "it truly was a great weekend and our hope is that it comes back the same weekend." After the 2023 weather delays, Williams floated the idea of moving the festival dates, prompting some pushback from community business leaders.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.Metcalfe@pilotonline.Com

Trevor Metcalfe covers business for The Virginian-Pilot and the Daily Press. Before moving to Hampton Roads in 2018, he wrote for the Danville Register & Bee in Danville. In his spare time, he enjoys classic movies and attending to his pet cat.

Hotel Revenues Up, But Occupancy Down During Something In The Water 2023

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The Hampton Roads hotel industry did well during this year's Something in the Water festival weekend – but perhaps not as well as they'd hoped.

Hotels across Hampton Roads saw more than $2 million in increased revenue thanks to the festival, but occupancy rates were down, according to STR Global Hospitality data.

"This year revenues increased almost everywhere, but rooms sold decreased everywhere also except in Williamsburg," Old Dominion University Professor of Economics Vinod Agarwal said.

This year, hotel occupancy was at about 75% on festival Friday and nearly 78% that Saturday. In 2019, hotels saw occupancy of over 90% on both of the festival's main days, data showed.

The prices for hotel rooms was way up this year, too. Oceanfront hotel rooms sold for an average of $343 a night during the 2023 festival weekend compared to $231 a night in 2019.

"This tells me because 2019 SITW was such a big success, hoteliers, especially at the Oceanfront, thought they could charge much higher rates and have full occupancy," Agarwal said. "I believe the fact that they charged much higher rates also led to a softer occupancy."

Virginia Beach officials have yet to release information on SITW ticket sales or the festival's economic impact on the city. Officials say they're working on a report that's expected to be released in the fall.

Pharrell's Something In The Water Festival Will Stream On Amazon Prime

If you're unable to get to Washington, D.C. For Pharrell Williams's Something In The Water Festival this June 17-19, Amazon Prime will stream the entire festival every day at 3 PM on the Amazon Prime app and on the platform's Twitch Channel. Check out the announcement below via the festival's Instagram account.

The 2022 Something In The Water Festival was announced in April. Pharrell and his ensemble act "Pharrell & Phriends" will headline one of the days, with artists like Tyler, The Creator, Davido, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, Ozuna, Teyana Taylor, Tierra Whack, Mariah The Scientist, Dave Matthews Band, and more.

The festival originated in Virginia Beach in 2019; its 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled due to the pandemic. This year, Pharrell announced that he would relocate Something In The Water from Virginia Beach to D.C. In protest of the official response to the death of his 25-year-old cousin Donovon Lynch. Police shot and killed Lynch in August 2021, and claim that he brandished a weapon at the scene where he was killed – Lynch's father disputes this, and has filed a lawsuit against the officer who killed his son.

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