VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — After the fanfare of Pharrell Williams' surprise announcement of the return of the Something in the Water music festival, comes the other fare you’ll have to pay to enjoy the party.
“The festival would sell out the city on its own, regardless of anything else," said John Zirkle, the president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association. "Virginia Beach had other events booked because we didn’t know Something in the Water was coming back.”
Now, roughly six months away from the festival's first return to Hampton Roads since its inaugural year in 2019, Zirkle acknowledged Friday that hotels could sell out of rooms at a faster rate than they did three years ago.
Early March is when Zirkle said most of the Oceanfront's hotel rooms came off the books.
"Most hotels were sold out. Some were hanging in there, holding out for that highest rate, and they went with some empty rooms because maybe they were a little greedy.”
The festival's unexpected return only adds to what is a traditionally busy and filled weekend for the Oceanfront.
Zirkle said festivalgoers might already have a hard time finding a hotel room for a single night over the course of the weekend, but might have more luck if they look to book multiple days beginning Thursday and into Monday.
“There is a little more compression: some hotels that had better availability don’t have as much because they’re holding rooms for those other groups.”
A quick scroll and comparison of hotel booking sites will already reflect room rates are roughly double that of the surrounding weekend. It's difficult to say how much of those monetary increases are a direct correlation to Pharrell's announcement, but Zirkle said the rooms will still only increase in price over time.
The first batch of tickets goes on sale to Virginia residents on Saturday at 10 a.m. in person at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, before they're opened up for everyone at noon.