World Cup fails to fill US hotel rooms as bookings disappoint

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was meant to be a windfall for hotels across the United States. With matches spread across 11 host cities and the tournament billed as the largest in the competition's history, the hospitality industry had anticipated record occupancy. The reality has proven considerably more muted, with World Cup hotel bookings tracking below last year's figures in most host cities.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), which represents tens of thousands of clients from major chains to independent properties, found eight in 10 hotels in host cities reporting lower demand than expected. Many operators described the tournament in industry surveys as a "non-event", with a majority recording bookings below those seen during a typical summer period.

Deidre Mathis, who owns the Wanderstay Boutique Hotel in Houston, Texas, said her property sat at 45% capacity for the tournament period, compared with 70% for the same time last year. The hotel is approximately one mile on foot from the Houston fan zone and a short drive from the stadium hosting local matches. "We were sold this expectation the World Cup would be a big phenomenon, people have been talking about it for years," she said. "So when we looked at our calendar and saw in February, March and April that we still weren't sold out, and it is not just us in Houston but it's all over, we were left sitting here just very confused."

Several factors have converged to suppress demand. Mathis pointed to the political climate during Donald Trump's second term in office, including immigration enforcement operations carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in cities across the country. She also cited the rising cost of living in the aftermath of the US-Israel military campaign against Iran, as well as match ticket prices, which she described as "phenomenally" expensive. Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey were officially priced at up to $32,970, while resale listings have exceeded $2 million for a single ticket.

Trump himself, despite being an enthusiastic public supporter of both the tournament and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, stated publicly that he "wouldn't pay it either" when asked about ticket prices. Mathis called on FIFA to reduce ticket costs and urged the US government to speed up visa processing for international fans hoping to attend.

AHLA president and chief executive Rosanna Maietta attributed part of the shortfall to the Iran conflict, though she noted that some fans may be delaying accommodation bookings until their national team's match locations are confirmed. That wait-and-see behaviour, common in tournament travel, may yet translate into a late surge in reservations as the competition progresses. The travel outlook has also been complicated by broader disruption to aviation, with airlines cancelling 13,000 flights in May as the jet fuel crisis escalates, raising the total cost of attendance for many international visitors.

The contrast with short-term rental platforms has been notable. Airbnb declared the 2026 World Cup "the biggest hosting event" in its history, suggesting that travellers who are attending may be choosing private accommodation over traditional hotels. If accurate, this could indicate a structural shift in how tournament visitors book rather than an overall collapse in demand.

For hoteliers like Mathis, the immediate priority is reversing the trajectory before the group stage concludes. She expressed cautious optimism that the next four weeks could bring improvement, though the gap between forecasts and actual bookings has left many operators reassessing their assumptions about major sporting events as demand catalysts.

What This Means for US Tournament Hospitality

The World Cup experience is exposing the limits of major-event demand assumptions in the hotel sector. When visa barriers, political friction, and extreme ticket prices combine, even a once-in-a-generation tournament may not deliver the occupancy surge that operators price in years ahead. The episode offers a clear signal to hoteliers and policymakers that attracting the tournament and converting it into economic output for accommodation providers requires active intervention on cost and accessibility, not just proximity to the pitch.