As I entered the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel on a sweltering Sunday in October, my senses were overloaded: Taylor Swift’s tunes trickled out of speakers, a step-and-repeat featuring the singer’s face was set up next to check-in, and a friendship bracelet station — exclusively for Marriott Bonvoy Members — had been constructed just outside the lobby’s gift shop. Young adults, many of them draped in sequins from head-to-toe, flitted about, and bracelet-clad hotel employees worked to manage the longer-than-usual queue.
Marriott, the largest hotel company in the world, had officially Swifti-fied the property for the singer’s three-day Eras Tour stop in Miami. And whether you’re a fan of Swift’s music or not, there is no denying the far-reaching impact surrounding her latest tour.
In the travel industry, there’s even a name for it: “The Swift Lift.”
Cities have seen a boost to their economies when Swift is in town, hotels are booked solid in destinations hosting her shows, and tour operators and accommodation offerings have implemented special marketing packages to drum up more business. “The Swift Lift” was even named as a top travel trend for Virtuoso travel advisors in 2024, with both advisors and suppliers seeing potential in incorporating her popularity to boost their own businesses.
I wasn’t in Miami for the concert, but make no mistake: I was there for Swift. My brief stop at Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel was simply a place to rest my head (and string a few friendship bracelets) before boarding the 6,780-passenger Allure of the Seas cruise ship from Royal Caribbean, where I’d invited a college friend to join me for the “In My Cruise Era” affinity sailing, a group organized in partnership between travel agency Marvelous Mouse Travels and Royal Caribbean International.
From Fans to Friends
The affinity sailing represents perhaps one of the most successful and well-known cases of a travel company embracing the cultural phenomenon of Swift’s tour and using it for their own (business) benefit. This particular group cruise was announced on Royal Caribbean’s blog in late 2023, and it quickly went viral. Three Marvelous Mouse advisors — Jessica Malerman, Nicole Rivera and Shelby Reyes — sold their 299 staterooms onboard Allure of the Seas almost immediately, and amassed a waiting list of about 10,000 people shortly after.
The approximately 400 clients who were lucky enough to snag a spot on the cruise ranged in age, gender, nationality and walks of life. But the best part? Most were brand-new to using a travel advisor.
Jessica Malerman (left) and Nicole Rivera are two of the three Marvelous Mouse travel advisors who organized the In My Cruise Era sailing.
Credit: 2024 @folkandfilm_photography
As a Swiftie myself, and someone who had never been on a Royal Caribbean cruise (let alone traveled with such a large group), I was eager, if a little nervous, to experience the “Swift Lift” personally. And forging new connections, whether it was through friendship bracelet trading, singing along to karaoke or playing “Bestie Bingo” — all exclusive events just for In My Cruise Era clients — was a theme throughout the entire trip.
In fact, I saw these new friendships as a huge selling point for affinity group travel, and travel in general.
Far from a normal vacation, affinity groups form “a little community” that features “all the events that are exactly what I want to go to,” said Alyssa Malerman, who accompanied her sister, Marvelous Mouse travel advisor Jessica, on the sailing.
“Everybody is so friendly and overwhelmingly positive and unified by not just a shared interest, but a shared lifestyle,” Alyssa said. “Taylor Swift herself is so kind, positive and welcoming, and she really promotes that sort of trait.”
Everybody is so friendly and overwhelmingly positive and unified by not just a shared interest, but a shared lifestyle.
“At Bestie Bingo, everybody started meeting each other and mingling, and the energy was just so high,” she added. “And then we all went to the dance party together, and were all dancing with our new friends that we just met two hours ago.”
Throughout the four-night sailing, Malerman, Rivera and Reyes organized small-group meetups and gift exchanges that further cemented connections among members of the group. Assigned dining was also a group affair, promoting an overall sense of community and making even one of the largest cruise ships feel small.
Organized activities included sing-alongs and dance parties.
Credit: 2024 @folkandfilm_photographySupplier Partnerships
Booking large groups — which requires some heavy lifting from the travel advisors — is also a win-win for suppliers, who work with advisors to curate special experiences, book private space and facilitate group activities. And cruising is an especially appealing medium for this, luring newer or inexperienced travelers who only have to unpack once, and who often embark at a domestic port.
Kari Dillon, owner of Marvelous Mouse Travels, said that booking these large affinity groups is a lucrative approach to travel planning, and one that can be replicated again and again.
“I think that ultimately, and what I've been talking to my team about, is that when you pull a group of people together that have a likeness, there are so many things that can be done with it,” she said. “It doesn't have to be about music. When you pull people together who have similar interests, they [already] have a connection. And I think that we've seen that with this.”
For other travel advisors who may be interested in booking large affinity groups, Dillon says “just do it.”
“It is not the same thing as hopping on a booking platform and quoting something,” she said. “There are a lot of moving parts. Your first group is going to be a tough one, right? It’s a learning experience. None [of my advisors] ever expected this to blow up. It was a challenge. But at the end of the day, it’s not as difficult as it looks from the outside.”
