Splash House gives Palm Springs businesses a summer boost

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. (KESQ)- Summer can be one of the slower times of year for businesses in Palm Springs, but this weekend, thousands of visitors are bringing more customers through the doors.

Splash House is back in Palm Springs for its second weekend, bringing electronic music fans to the city for poolside performances, hotel stays and late-night events. The festival takes place at three Palm Springs resorts, with After Hours events at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

For local businesses, the impact can stretch beyond the festival grounds. With visitors staying in Palm Springs are also spending money at restaurants, bars, shops and other businesses around the city.

“It’s a community that warmly welcomes and caters to visitors,” Visit Greater Palm Springs said in its guide to Splash House, encouraging festivalgoers to leave the hotels and visit local restaurants and businesses.

That extra traffic can be especially important during the summer, when triple-digit temperatures can make it harder to draw visitors to the Coachella Valley.

In 2022, organizers estimated the festival generated an economic impact of about $6.7 million per weekend. With the festival taking place over two weekends, that boost can stretch beyond just a single weekend.

The 2026 festival runs Aug. 7-9 and Aug. 14-16.

For visitors José Reyes and Johnathon Flores, attending Splash House has become an annual tradition. Reyes noted that the pair uses the trip not only to attend the festival but also to explore the surrounding area and patronize local establishments.

“This is actually our sixth year in a row,” Reyes said. “So we this is like a yearly trip that we make out here.” During their stay, they venture beyond the event venue into neighboring businesses. “Downtown we definitely check out the downtown areas,” Reyes said. “We try to do like local coffee shops and stuff like that. When we're in the festival, we always kind of also recommendations as well. trying to discover and trying to see, you know, what's new in the city and just kind of keep it fresh.”

The boost in tourism extends to local lodging and hospitality providers. Paula Lopez, guest service manager at the Dunes Hotel, said the hotel was fully booked for the second weekend of the festival, with reservations starting to roll in about two months in advance.

“This kind of event is an injection of revenue to the city,” Lopez said. “I mean, for the hotel, for the restaurant, the for the thing that is involved.” Lopez noted that visitor spending reaches well beyond room rates. “They go to eat some restaurant to get some souvenirs for the store,” Lopez said. “So this is the all this is injection to the economy out there for the valley.”