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| ▲ This photo, provided by Big Hit Music shows K-pop superband BTS. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- While world star K-pop group BTS is scheduled to hold offline concerts in Los Angeles between Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 1-2 (local time), the vicinity of SoFi Stadium has begun to create a buzz.
According to the tourism industry on Tuesday, Trend Hotel at LAX Airport, less than five miles from LAX, are offering rooms with prices beginning at 410,000 won per night as of Nov. 27, which is the first day of BTS' concert.
The hotel is known to not be a five-star luxury hotel and is classified as a relatively inexpensive "economical accommodation." The rooms of Trend Hotel LAX only spike up to 150,000 won on Christmas Eve, which is when hotel rates are usually considered to be at their peak.
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| ▲ This photo, captured from a hotel reservation site, shows a comparison of Trend Hotel LAX's nightly rates on Nov. 27, the first day of BTS' concert (top) and on Dec. 24. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Dubbed as the "BTS effect," the surrounding area of SoFi Stadium has heated up to the extent where businesses are feeling rewarded after taking a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is also true for other accommodations near the concert venue.
Casa Bell Motel Los Angeles Airport and Crystal Inn Suites & Spas, located at a 10-minute drive from Sofi Stadium, are also receiving about 300,000 won per night during the same period, demanding twice the room prices listed during Christmas.
Most of these hotels are two-star accommodations and are far from being classified as luxury hotels, which cost hundreds of thousands of won per night. This phenomenon happened to occur since most decent hotels were fully booked earlier on, making it difficult for people to find a place to stay.
Some BTS fans, known as Army, who secured their reservations earlier on, were also seen posting messages on Twitter and other social media platforms, saying they were finding companions to go to the concert with.
In addition, Korean travel companies have also offered BTS concert related packages.
Hana Tour, Korea's No. 1 travel agency, launched a tour package offering shuttle buses and accommodations last month, receiving dozens of reservations.
"It is very difficult to book hotels and shuttle buses near SoFi Stadium in downtown LA or the airport before and after the BTS concert," Hana Tour explained. "We will be preparing airline, hotel, and shuttle bus options for visitors attending the concert."
As much as "BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE - LA" is BTS' first offline concert since the outbreak of COVID-19, tickets for the four-day concert were instantly sold out. Big Hit Music has even installed a large screen at YouTube Theater for fans to watch BTS' performance live.
Furthermore, according to Ticket Master, a ticket resale site, seats in District A1, the closest to the stage, are priced at 7,300 dollars (about 8.6 million won) on the first concert day. The cheapest ticket for seats located at the far back, currently costs 350 dollars (around 410,000 won).
Considering the fact that the tickets are usually between 75-275 dollars, the current prices are 25 times higher. However, since these prices aren't the actual amount paid by someone, there is still a possibility that the cost of tickets will fall near the start of the concert.
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| ▲ This image, provided by Big Hit Music, shows that K-pop boy group BTS will perform with Megan Thee Stallion at the 2021 American Music Awards set to be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on the U.S. TV channel ABC on Nov. 21, 2021. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Prior to the concert, BTS is also nominated for the grand prize of the fan-voted American Music Awards (AMA), which is scheduled to be held on Nov. 21. The septet will attend the awards ceremony in-person and perform a remix version of "Butter" with rapper Megan Thee Stallion on stage.
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| ▲ A promotional image of the 2021 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour provided by the U.S. radio platform. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE). (Yonhap) |
After the four-day concert, BTS will also be on the stage of this year's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, the largest year-end radio show in the United States, on Dec. 3.
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