Harry Styles residency helped lift Dutch inflation, central banker says
Dutch officials linked a May jump in hotel prices to Harry Styles concerts in Amsterdam, where fans drove up demand for rooms.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
A run of Harry Styles concerts in Amsterdam helped push Dutch hotel prices sharply higher in May, according to a Dutch central bank official. The episode was large enough for European monetary policymakers to flag concert-related lodging costs while assessing services inflation.
Bas ter Weel, director of monetary affairs at the Dutch central bank, said hotel prices in the Netherlands rose 21% on average in May. He said the increase added 0.4 percentage points to the country’s monthly inflation rate, more than half of the rise from April, as overall inflation climbed from 2.8% to 3.5%.
Fortune reported that Styles’ Together, Together tour stopped in Amsterdam for a 10-day residency from May 16 to June 5, its only mainland European stop. The concerts brought fans from across Europe and the United States, increasing demand for accommodation in the city, Fortune reported.
Concert demand reached central bankers
The European Central Bank cited “concert-related hotel prices in the Netherlands” in its discussion of faster services inflation, according to ECB accounts. The ECB did not name Styles in that reference.
The discussion came before the ECB’s June decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.4%, Reuters reported. Fortune noted that major tours by artists including Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift have also delivered visible lifts to local economies in Europe.
Ter Weel told Dutch radio station BNR that the Styles residency produced one of the largest tourism-related price jumps the Netherlands has seen in years. “Harry Styles really breaks everything,” he told BNR.
Cheap tickets met costly rooms
Some fans found that attending the concert was cheaper than staying in Amsterdam. NL Times reported that some Styles tickets fell as low as €50, or about $57, before the shows.
Fans posting on TikTok described the lodging squeeze. One user said she and a friend spent 10 days on a canal houseboat and had to shower elsewhere after hotel prices exceeded their budget, according to Fortune.
Another fan posted on TikTok that she paid €900, about $1,030, for five nights in a very small room she called a “box,” Fortune reported. The posts showed how a short concert run translated into higher costs for travelers competing for limited rooms.
Younger fans keep spending on experiences
Fortune linked the Amsterdam rush to a broader pattern in which younger consumers continue to spend on travel and live events despite financial pressure. Freddie Mac research cited by Fortune found that one-third of Gen Z respondents said they believe they will never own a home.
TIAA’s latest financial literacy report found Gen Z scored lower than other age groups, according to Fortune. Fortune also cited separate research showing the average Gen Zer began saving for retirement about 15 years earlier than baby boomers.
Ter Weel said the economic impact cut both ways, according to Fortune. The hotel surge temporarily lifted inflation, but it also brought more spending into the Dutch economy.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.