How do you set prices for events and festivals in your city?

Category: Pricing & Revenue

By: Lauren Fischer

Posted: 2026-01-28T19:13:00.561Z

I'm in Nashville and there are events literally every week — CMA Fest, NFL games, SEC Championship, concert weekends at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville Marathon, etc. I know I should be pricing higher during these events but I never know exactly HOW much higher. I don't want to miss out by underpricing, but I also don't want to overprice and sit empty while everyone else books. How do you figure out the right price for events?

Reply by Anika Sharma:

Nashville host with 6 properties here. Events are where I make 40% of my annual revenue. Here's my exact approach: 1. **Build an event calendar** at the start of each year. List every major event, its dates, and estimated attendance. I use Google Calendar. 2. **Check AirDNA (https://airdna.co) historical data.** Look at what the average nightly rate was during last year's CMA Fest or NFL game. That gives you a baseline. 3. **Set prices 3-6 months in advance.** For major events (CMA Fest, major concerts), I typically price 2x-3x my base rate. For smaller events (local 5K, food festival), 1.3-1.5x. 4. **Watch booking velocity.** If you get booked more than 3 months before an event, you probably priced too low. Adjust upward next year. If you're still empty 2 weeks before, consider dropping 10-15%. **My Nashville event multipliers:** - CMA Fest: 3x - NFL Titans home games: 1.8x - SEC Championship: 2.5x - Major concert weekends: 2x - Marathon: 1.5x PriceLabs (https://pricelabs.co) automatically detects local events and adjusts pricing, but I always review and override for the big Nashville events because I know my market better than the algorithm.

Reply by Michael Thompson:

Pro tip: **set a minimum stay during events.** CMA Fest is 4 days — so set a 3-night minimum. You don't want someone booking just Thursday night at 3x rate when you could have sold Wed-Sat for 4 nights at 2.5x. Also, events that cause hotel sell-outs are your goldmine. When downtown hotels hit 95%+ occupancy, Airbnb demand spikes because there's literally no hotel rooms left. That's when you can push to 3x+ confidently.

Reply by Ingrid Svensson:

RentCast (https://rentcast.io) has good event/seasonality data too if AirDNA pricing is steep. I use both together — AirDNA for detailed comp data and RentCast for wider market trends. The biggest pricing mistake I see Nashville hosts make: not pricing high ENOUGH for CMA Fest week. I've seen hosts charge $200/night when hotels are selling for $500+. Know your worth during peak events.