Dolly Parton Left Behind a Legacy That Draws 2 Million Visitors a Year

0:24Welcome back to the Skiff Daily Briefing. It's Thursday, August 27th. I'm Bailey Schulz, Skip's global tourism reporter. Let's get into it. First up, Dollywood was open to the public Wednesday, one day after Dolly Parton's death. A statement from the theme park's website said it wanted to honor her memory, quote, not with silence, but with laughter, music, and shared dreams. Dollywood's operators have dodged the wave of closures and downsizing hitting theme park operators since the pandemic. While Six Flags have sold off parks and smaller parks nationwide have shuttered in recent years, Dollywood co-owner Hershed is expanding, and Dollywood itself is in the midst of a$500 million expansion.

0:59The park draws over 2 million visitors a year by leading its Appalachian culture and Parn's own story rather than licensed characters. Next up, Harry Styles kicked off his two-month residency at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. New York hotels are already feeling it. The tour is smaller than Taylor Swift's era tour. 67 shows across seven cities versus Swift's 149 shows spread across 51 cities, but 30 of Harry Styles' shows land in one city over two months. New York State hotel occupancies are actually down about 2 % versus last year, according to CoStar, but hotels near the garden are seeing real gains.

1:32One told Skip that weekend occupancies on show dates are up as much as 30%, and bindings from key data show that nightly rates for short-term rentals are up nearly a third. The data suggests that a concert tour doesn't necessarily need to be a Taylor Swift-sized spectacle to move a market. For certain markets, steady residencies can really lead to sustainable growth. Finally, why do boutique hotel owners almost always end up selling? There's a pattern emerging of chains making boutique hotel deals. Hilton bought graduate hotels for$210 million. Marriott paid$355 million for Citizen M. The brand changes hands while the buildings stay behind.

2:05Day-to-day economics can push founders to sell. Chains like Marriott and Hilton pay lower commissions to online travel agencies and can send millions of loyalty members to properties. For a founder with a dozen properties and a loyalty program, that distribution gap can be the difference between staying independent and needing a larger partner. That's it for your Skip Daily Briefing. I'm Bailey Schultz. For more industry news, check out skift.com and skift.com backslash daily.