CHICAGO — The air was electric at Chicago’s United Center in mid-September, as thousands of concertgoers danced at their seats and sang at the top of their lungs during one of the few U.S. stops on Robyn’s Sexistential Tour.
The Swedish pop icon, whose hits include “Dancing on My Own," hadn’t toured the U.S. in years. We didn’t want to miss our chance to see her this time – even it meant having to travel from Atlanta and Nashville.
So we decided to build a whole trip around Robyn’s concert.
Expedia Group’s newly released Unpack ‘27 Travel Trends report shows roughly a third of travelers booking one-night hotel stays do so for concerts. Another third book to celebrate milestones, and nearly 30% just want to reset in between longer vacations. Expedia calls
this micro-vacation trend “trip snacking” and says close to 80% of travelers are planning to book a one-night stay over the next year, with searches up nearly 10% year-over-year.
Our trip only lasted about 24 hours, but it was absolutely worth it.
What is ‘trip snacking’ like?
By nature of its shorter timeframe, trip snacking can feel busier than an extended vacation if you try to squeeze too much in. However, we’d both been to Chicago before. Nathan recently visited on a Great Lakes cruise and numerous times as a kid, and Eve lived in the city during grad school. So while we did some sightseeing, we didn’t feel the need to see everything.
Flying in from our respective cities, we met up at our hotel at lunchtime and grabbed a quick bite nearby before easing into the day with a tranquil Chicago architecture river cruise, followed by a stroll along the Chicago Riverwalk, Michigan Avenue, and the lakeshore, basking in the sunshine of late summer.
Midway, we stopped for sweet treats at Starbucks’ Chicago Roastery. Eve had grand hopes of a sumptuous dinner after getting recommendations from her niece in the city, but our leisurely exploration ate up the afternoon, so we wound up having snacks in our hotel room and at the United Center to avoid being late for our main event: the concert.
How much does ‘trip snacking’ cost?
Flights were a big chunk of the cost for Nathan, whose round-trip fare from Nashville International Airport totaled about $384. Eve used airline miles.
Rates for our hotel, Arlo Chicago Downtown, vary by date, but our one-night, two-person stay cost $334 through Hotels.com.
The hotel is located right on Michigan Avenue near Millennium Park in the Loop district, so we were able to save money on transportation by walking around and taking the L (CTA rail), which costs $2.50 per ride or $5 for a one-day pass. Eve also took the L to the hotel from Chicago Midway International Airport, while Nathan opted for Uber rides to and from O’Hare International Airport, which cost about $40 each way, before tip.
Our concert tickets totaled about $157.
The Chicago architecture tour was $94 for both of us through Tripadvisor, after Eve cashed in rewards dollars from prior bookings, which cut the cost.
Our meals, including lunch at Nando’s by the hotel, snacks at Starbucks and the United Center, and breakfast at Stan’s Donuts and Coffee, also near the hotel, came to about $200 combined.
The trip total came to under $1,300.
Trip snacking for shows
We thoroughly enjoyed meandering the city, but the highlight of our trip was definitely the concert.
Research shared by Live Nation in September finds live music fans took nearly 40% more trips than other travelers over the past year, and nearly 70% of fans plan trips around tours and festivals.
Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2027 report shows fans are choosing “more intimate, unrepeatable music experiences, choosing unconventional, hyper-local venues over stadium shows.”
Even though Robyn's show was held in the United Center, she made the more than 20,000-seat venue feel like a giant nightclub, even from our nosebleed section.
After a rousing opening set from Canadian artist Peaches, Robyn got the crowd to their feet for her new song “Talk to Me,” a slick electropop banger. Sheer white curtains glowed in pulsing lights during the heartbreak anthem “With Every Heartbeat.” And her raw version of 1995’s “Show Me Love” wowed the crowd.
By the time of her encore, it sounded like the whole arena was singing along – a magical shared experience just short flights away from home.
The reporters on this story received hotel access from Hotels.com. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: We flew to Chicago for 24 hours. Was 'trip snacking' worth it?
