Hotels in U.S. World Cup host cities claim underwhelming demand, new report says – The Athletic
A majority of hotels in the 2026 World Cup’s 11 U.S. host cities are reporting underwhelming demand for stays during the tournament, according to new data released Monday by the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
The AHLA, which represents more than 30,000 properties nationwide, surveyed members in the host cities, and close to 80 percent of respondents reported that bookings are “tracking below initial forecasts” for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19.
The report — which is based on 205 responses from hotel operators and owners, many of whom own multiple portfolios across multiple World Cup markets, an AHLA spokesperson said — indicates that current performance is very soft compared to the expectations of the hotels themselves.
Over 70 percent of respondents in San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and Boston also reported that booking pace was below expectations, with over 60 percent saying the same in Los Angeles, New York City, Houston and Dallas.
The rosiest outlooks, relatively, were in Miami, where just over 50 percent of respondents reported bookings below expectations; and Atlanta, at just under 50 percent.
Citing the feedback from members, the AHLA concluded that “indicators suggest the anticipated economic lift [from the World Cup] may fall short of expectations.”
The report also says that some properties are “pausing investments around World Cup-specific activations, brand partnerships, and temporary renovations amid uncertainty” due to slower-than-expected demand. It also warns that if bookings fall below expectations, host cities will not generate the tax revenue that FIFA and others promised.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has regularly cited claims that the World Cup will have a $30 billion “economic impact” in the U.S., but a significant portion of this projected impact relies on tourists piling into the country during the tournament.
Upon learning of the report by the AHLA, local organizers of the World Cup in Kansas City did provide some pushback.
They told The Athletic that embassies from Argentina, Ecuador, Netherlands, Curaçao, Austria and Canada are all deploying consular service teams to Kansas City because they anticipate a significant number of their citizens will be traveling to the area to attend games and tournament events.
World Cup fever spreads in Kansas City’s Union Station (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
They also pointed to reports in local media KMBC that short-term rentals are demonstrating increased take-up this summer.
The Kansas City Host Committee pointed to feedback from Visit KC, the region’s official tourism organization, which insisted that there is building demand but conceded it is “increasingly concentrated, domestic-led, and booking later,” with domestic travelers the main driver of inbound travel to the area during the World Cup.
The AHLA report aligns with worries that tourism industry leaders began expressing throughout the spring, including in interviews with The Athletic last month.
And it casts further doubt on how many international fans will travel to the United States for matches.
“Forecasts show that domestic travelers are outpacing international travelers — an imbalance that threatens the broader economic impact the World Cup was expected to generate,” the report states.
The doubts over the extent of international travel for this World Cup are further evidenced by the slow take-up by soccer fans of the FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System (FIFA PASS). This was rolled out by the Trump administration in November to expedite visa interview appointments for World Cup attendees from countries who do not currently have a visa waiver agreement with the United States. A State Department spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic that only around 14,000 people have used the FIFA PASS as of last weekend, despite FIFA claiming that over five million tickets have been sold.
This does not necessarily mean that international fans are not travelling for the tournament. The State Department spokesperson added that 55 million foreigners already have visas, meaning that some who are coming for the World Cup may not have needed to apply in any case. And nationals from 42 countries, including many in Europe, do not require visa appointments due to waiver agreements with the U.S.
The spokesperson also said that wait times for visa appointments at U.S. consulates across the world have broadly improved, with 80 percent of locations worldwide limiting wait times to under two months since 2025, perhaps rendering the FIFA PASS less necessary.
The AHLA report cites multiple factors in explaining the softness of hotel bookings. Respondents cited “visa barriers” and “broader geopolitical concerns” as among the top constraints in suppressing international demand. Potential visitors may be impacted by U.S. travel bans — which affect four countries competing in the World Cup — while nationals from two further countries participating in the World Cup must deposit up to $15,000 in bond payments to be granted a tourist visa to enter the U.S.
The AHLA report also says that the added costs caused by state or local policies may also deter potential travelers. They specifically cite the controversial $150 New Jersey Transit rail price to MetLife Stadium as one added cost.
MetLife Stadium, which will host the World Cup final, gets decked out for this summer’s competition (Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
The AHLA report does not mention that hotels themselves may have had an impact in deterring international travel. In December, shortly after the World Cup draw, The Athletic analyzed hotel prices in the tournament’s 16 host cities. The 96 hotels in our sample were, on average, charging $1,013 per night around the opening match in their respective cities, compared with $293 for an equivalent stay in late-May, exactly three weeks earlier. The average increase was 328 percent.
In many cases, those prices have now fallen significantly. A follow-up analysis last month found that, on average in the 11 U.S. cities, the mid-June rates have been slashed by more than 40 percent from their peak a few months ago.
The AHLA report also does not mention FIFA’s own ticket pricing, which has likely excluded many soccer fans from being able to attend the tournament.
The report does, however, take aim at FIFA. The organizers of the World Cup initially booked thousands of rooms across host cities, then exercised a clause that allowed them to cancel many reservations as the tournament grew closer.
The report says that FIFA’s “over-commitment” on room blocks “created an artificial early demand signal that has since unraveled.”
The report says the cancellations particularly hit Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle, claiming it sometimes “topped 70 percent of contracted inventory in affected markets.” It had the impact, they claim, of distorting revenue forecasts, staffing plans and World Cup-themed preparations and partnerships.
While changes to block bookings are not abnormal ahead of mega-events, the AHLA suggests the hotels needed more “transparency, lead time and a communications process that treats operators as partners.”
Instead, they say that many rooms were canceled three months out from the tournament, leaving hotels scrambling to backfill rooms and alter their sales strategies.
A FIFA spokesperson, responding to the AHLA report, said in a statement: “To insinuate a lack in transparency from FIFA is factually incorrect. All room releases were conducted in line with contractually agreed timelines with hotel partners — a standard practice for an event of this scale. In many cases, room releases were made ahead of established deadlines to further accommodate requests from hotels.
“Throughout the planning process, FIFA’s Accommodations team maintained consistent discussions with hotel stakeholders including room block adjustments, agreeing to rates, confirming room types, and regular reporting, supported by townhall and ongoing communication.
The FIFA spokesperson also argued generally that “global demand for the 2026 World Cup is unprecedented, with more than five million tickets sold for the tournament, and excitement continues to build for the largest sporting event on the planet.”
The AHLA hopes that travelers may still be tempted to attend it.
Rosanna Maietta, president and CEO of the AHLA, said in a statement: “A range of factors have tempered early optimism, though forward indicators show there is still meaningful opportunity ahead. To fully realize that potential, the U.S. and FIFA must ensure a welcoming and seamless experience for international travelers. That means avoiding unnecessary cost increases on visas and transportation to and from the games, and discouraging local jurisdictions from adding last-minute tax hikes that hurt the games and consumers.”
