Hotels in World Cup Host Cities Are Underperforming
Hotels in cities hosting major 2026 FIFA World Cup games reported weaker-than-expected booking levels, weeks before the tournament is set to begin.
Eleven cities are to host 78 of the 104 soccer matches from June 11 to July 19 in what is going to be the biggest World Cup in history, featuring a record 48 teams. The remaining games will be played in Canada and Mexico.
The tournament was to deliver a tourism boom to businesses in host cities, but visa barriers, weaker international travel demand and especially high ticket prices have dampened expectations.
Underperforming Hotels
Despite more than 5 million tickets being sold, close to 80 percent of hotel owners and operators said bookings were "tracking below initial forecasts," according to an April survey conducted by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA).
This figure rose to 85-to-90 percent in Kansas City, where demand is "trailing a typical June or July." The city is host to six games.
In most of the other cities, such as Houston or Seattle, between 65 and 75 percent of respondents found the pace of booking was below expectations.
"We did expect to have more on the books going into it," Margaret Smart of Wyndham's The District at Hogg Palace in Houston, Texas-host to seven matches-told Click2Houston on May 15.
And yet, city leaders had described the World Cup as "104 Super Bowls."
"We were expecting entirety of FIFA, almost like rodeo numbers, where we're pretty much 98 to 100 percent sold out. But currently… we're sitting at an 80 percent occupancy,” said Morgan Hollingshead of The Sam Houston Hotel.
Similar sentiment near the Pacific, in Seattle where in the AHLA survey, some go as far as calling the World Cup a “non-event.”
"Initially, when it came in, we thought it would be this huge lift for the whole month, but now that is coming around the corner, it's more peaks and valleys," Jay Baty, the sales and marketing director at the Inn at the Market in Seattle, Washington, told KOMO News in early May.
Meanwhile, Anne Johnson, the general manager of The State Hotel in Seattle, said occupancy for the month of June was running 7 percent below where it was last year, she told KUOW.
‘Broader Geopolitical Concerns’
The AHLA survey revealed that 70 percent of hotel owners and operators say visa barriers, alongside "broader geopolitical concerns" were "significantly suppressing international demand."
“Forward indicators show there is still meaningful opportunity ahead,” a spokesperson for the AHLA previously told Newsweek. “We expect the stadiums will be full, but to fully realize the opportunity, the U.S. and FIFA must ensure a welcoming and seamless experience for international travelers.”
The issue is not contained to the U.S. and is also affecting Vancouver and Toronto, Canada’s two host cities.
Speaking to CBS News on Wednesday, Jacqui McMullen, the general manager of Times Square Suites Hotel in Vancouver, said: “In some cases we’re still waiting, I think, for people to understand where they want to go, which city they want to pick.”
Other markets are faring better. Chris Hardman, the president of the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association, previously told Newsweek that Atlanta continues to "stand out nationally in booking pace sentiment ahead of the FIFA World Cup," and said activity was expected "to accelerate significantly" in the coming days and weeks.
Meanwhile, some markets said they expected later booking surges. “In Qatar, which I recognize is different for many reasons, 83 percent of bookings were inside of 60 days and an astounding 47 percent were inside of six days,” Visiting Seattle’s chief business officer Kelly Saling told Fox 13 Seattle in April.
Safe embed will be rendered here
Service URL: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/28917630/embed
Economic Expectations
Forecasters had projected a major economic boost from the tournament.
FIFA's president, Gianni Infantino, has likened the interest in the competition, which will be played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, to "1,000 years of World Cups at once.”
In a joint study with the World Trade Organization (WTO) published in March 2025, FIFA had forecast that the tournament would generate $80.1 billion in gross economic impact, with $30.5 billion of this going toward the U.S.
"The numbers are striking," nonprofit trade group the U.S. Travel Association wrote in a recent report. "International World Cup visitors expect to spend more than $5,000 per person; 1.7 times more than typical international trips to the U.S."
A Grand to Watch US Play? ‘Wouldn’t Pay It,’ Says Trump
But there are other signs of sluggish demand.
Prices for nearly every match appear to be in free fall, according to TicketData.com. Fans are now able to secure a seat at Saudi Arabia v. Cabo Verde for around $160, down from $234 in late April and over $400 for October buyers.
As of May 14, prices for some of the more anticipated early games-such as the United States’ opener against Paraguay- dropped by more than 30 percent over the previous month. Prices had fallen for all but two of the U.S.-hosted games and by 24 percent on average, with many seeing drops of more than 50 percent.
In an interview with the New York Post earlier this month, President Donald Trump addressed the $1,000 baseline price tag for the U.S. Men’s National Team's opening match against Paraguay on June 12.
"I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you," Trump said.
Experts have pointed to the high pricing of tickets as one of the main reasons sales are underperforming.
"FIFA priced tickets too high for all 104 games, complete disaster, and they will be forced to drop them all greatly in next 30+ days. A terrible overall ticketing distribution execution for the world's biggest sporting tournament," Ticket Talk host Scott Friedman previously told Newsweek.
Safe embed will be rendered here
Service URL: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/29038070/embed
Travel indicators also point to weaker demand. During the October-January booking period, European airline reservations to the U.S. for July were down 14 percent year-over-year, according to Cirium data cited in Forbes. For host cities, bookings for June-made between December and January-fell 5 percent and 3.6 percent from Europe and Asia, respectively.
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 11:02 AM.