Following yesterday's announcement that the 2018 Mission Estate Concert would be going ahead on March 17, concerns have been raised about its clash with Horse of the Year.
The concert, a staple event in Hawke's Bay's summer calendar, will clash with the tail-end of Horse of the Year that has been booked for March 13-18 since early this year.
Horse of the Year event director Dave Mee said research had shown that on the Friday and Saturday nights alone accommodation in Hastings was booked out.
"I'm not quite sure how the city can deal with that many people coming into it. I don't think there's enough accommodation so that could be challenging."
Mr Mee said the dates for next year's HOY had been booked as early as March this year, tying in with both New Zealand and Australian equestrian calendars, and attendees had already booked out much of the area's accommodation.
"Most of our people have booked already because they know they're going and book well in advance. I'm not sure how it's going to play out. I don't think both of those events could be optimised in terms of attendees from out of town."
Frimley Lodge Motel owner Gareth Munitich said the clash was concerning and would affect his business.
"I definitely think there's going to be a shortage if they have two big events on the same weekend.
"Normally at the Mission concert we're full and Horse of the Year we're definitely fully booked. I would think I'm probably booked out already. People from last year book before they leave."
However Mission concert event director Garry Craft said his research had shown that accommodation in Napier for the weekend wasn't affected by HOY.
"Horse of the Year doesn't tend to go far outside of the Hastings area. There may be a few properties in the Hastings area that concert goers use but we don't think it's going to be any big merging."
Mr Craft said the concert organisers didn't have much of a choice when it came to selecting a date, relying on its stars' international touring schedules, but added that much of the accommodation demand would be absorbed by extensive homestay bookings.
More than 300 homes were utilised as homestays for this year's Mission concert and "picked up" many people looking for accommodation in the area, he said.
Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas said it was a pity Hawke's Bay couldn't have two big profitable weekends, but added that it would have "one boomer" of a weekend instead.
"It's obviously a shame we don't have it on another weekend that doesn't have a clash but I think the industry is prepared. There's good accommodation available and I think Hawke's Bay will deliver a fantastic event for both people at the Mission concert and Horse of the Year."