Coachella Fest Boom For Business, Residents

The countdown is over.

Coachella Fest started Friday, and local businesses and residents in Indio welcomed the festival with open arms.

One after another, after another, after another – tourtists arrived in the Coachella Valley.

Tara, traveling from Washington, D.C. for the party, said she was looking forward to “the craziness, the music, [and] the line-up Sunday night.”

“It’s the perfect time of the year,” said Jay Chesterton, Vice President of hotel operations at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

Hotels, casinos and resorts are racking it in. All 250 rooms and suites at Fantasy Springs are sold out.

“[We’re] sold out for the entire weekend with really positive room rates,” said Chesterton.

Festival neighbors sold food, water and even parking.

“It started as just kind of a whim,” said Lupe Ramos Watson, whose family opened up their property for visitor parking. “We saw that there was a need here in the local area to have additional parking.”

The Watson’s charged $20 per parking space.

“We’re expecting to be able to fill 250 cars today,” said Watson.

“It’s not going to fix our budget problems,” said Jim Curtis, Supervisor of special event for the City of Indio, who explained that the thousands of tourists are just what the city needed.

“It’s the recognition as the city of festivals,” he said. “That’s what were all about.”

It’s unclear how much revenue the festival will bring in, but Curtis said “millions of dollars to the Coachella Valley is always a good number to use.”

“I’m just here with a friend from Seattle who called me spur of the moment, like 3 days before I came here,” said Whidden Flores. “[My friend said] ‘oh, I got tickets too. Can I bum your hotel room with you?’ So, I said okay.”

“It’s a great economic impact for the Coachella Valley,” said Watson, who expects to generate nearly $15,000 in revenue this weekend.

“For us locals, it’s something to look forward to,” said said. “It inspires us.”

The City of Indo requires that vendors file for a permit at least 45 days prior to a major event.