Jay-Z's Music Festival Will Have Minimal Impact On Center City Hotel Bookings
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's a little more than six weeks before Jay-Z's"Made in America" two-day music festival arrives in Philadelphia. Huge crowds are expected, but hotels in Center City are not expecting to benefit much.
Officials say the hotels closest to the Parkway are seeing a slight bump in reservations for the festival, particularly the luxury hotels that may host the musicians and their massive entourages.
"When the concert was first announced, a lot of hotels saw a bump in reservations," Ed Grose, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, says. "Since then it has slowed down a little bit."
"It's really not as great for the hotels as a large convention, because most of the people who attend a concert on the Parkway are local people coming in from the suburbs."
Grose says this minimal impact on the hotels is the norm for big Philadelphia concerts, including the free Live-8 concert in 2005. The "Made in America" concert on September first and second will include not only Jay-Z but Pearl Jam and many and others.
Unlike other Parkway concerts, "Made in America" is a ticketed event. The cheapest two-day pass, at $99, is sold out. Now it'll cost you $135 for the pass.
