It’s not just local businesses—travel companies as big as Marriott are jumping aboard the Swiftie-cation train. A spokesperson for Marriott Bonvoy tells me the hotel chain is going all in on Eras, for which it is a touring sponsor in select cities. The brand is not only offering packages members can purchase via points to see Swift but also offering various sweepstakes, like their newly launched Mobile Check In sweepstakes, for fans to enter to win the chance to see Swift both stateside and abroad in places like Stockholm, Madrid, and Vancouver.
“My dad was on the Marriott Bonvoy Moments website every Wednesday trying to get one of the Moments packages in any city,” Alex O’Conner, tells me. “He finally got one in Stockholm and gave it to me in a gift bag on my birthday.”
And Contiki, a company that plans group trips for young adult travelers, launched a whole Taylor-themed tour to coincide with Eras Tour’s European dates. They can’t get you tickets, one of the company’s “Swiftie tour managers,” Ruby Stevens, tells me, but are providing everything else you could possibly need.
“One thing we tried to do is leverage the destination she talks about in her songs,” she says. “So for instance, in London, the trip managers will be able to share destinations that she mentions in the song, what to go see, Camden Market, all of that stuff.”
Fazeli also established herself as a sort of tour guide for Americans before the concert in Lyon, starting a Facebook group for the concert that ballooned to more than 17,000 members. In it she shared tips like how to get to the show, where to stay, and advice such as “A little ‘bonjour’ goes a long way.” She’s also been coaxing Swifties to drop some of their Yankee tendencies. Like, guys, you really don’t need a car.
“People are like, ‘Oh, how do we drive in Lyon?’” she says. “I’m like, ‘Ugh. Chill, breathe, eat, and enjoy your time here.’”
As is common in Swift-themed online spaces, the group soon morphed from logistics and questions to the collective sharing of emotions and excitement about the experience. Fanatics are nearly universally emotionally invested in both Swift and her music, and for many, the chance to embark on such a big excursion is extra special because it’s tied to her.
Some have planned their trips to honor loved ones. One member of Fazeli’s group, Rosell Novelliere, traveled with her brother Alex, himself a mega-Swiftie, to the June 2 concert as a tribute to their mother, who died last year. They brought along Rosell’s husband and two young children, as well as some family friends, to the show.
Rosell tells me that none of the family members were able to purchase tickets in the US, so her brother went on the hunt to get a ticket for an international show.
“My mom, her nurse, my brother, and I all laughed at the lengths he was going to,” she says.
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