Hotel bookings in many host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are likely to fall short of expectations as demand for accommodations is not as strong as anticipated.
Earlier in the week, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released its hotel outlook for the 2026 FIFA World Cup which is taking place across several major cities in the United States. The associated represents major hotel chains, independent hotels, management companies, bed and breakfasts and more across the United States. The World Cup takes place from June 11 – July 19, 2026.
The AHLA surveyed hoteliers in the host cities (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle) and found that anticipated demand has not resulted in strong hotel bookings due to a number of factors; where 80% of the replies mentioned that bookings were well below initial forecasts despite five million tickets being sold.
Unsurprisingly, 65-70% noted that geopolitical issues and visa related considerations were factors constraining travel to the U.S., while some host cities also noted that demand was also below their normal June-July summer period. Only 25-30% noted any meaningful increase.
My usual useless $2 (obligatory joke: 2 cents after accounting for inflationary pressures) which is an unapologetic repeat of what I’ve written in the past, is that this fascist kakistocratic regime in the U.S. (comprised of unqualified individuals including a convicted felon as the president) being outright hostile in their immigration policies, in their attacking of citizens and visitors, in their treatment of various demographics of travelers going through borders/customs at airports, in their detaining of innocent people without due process, in their global foreign policy and being a co-instigator in the war in Iran (and the chaos in the Persian Gulf which is affecting the global economy), are just additional reasons that international travelers are staying away.
The above is ALL before the exorbitant prices of tickets that FIFA has long extorted football fans around the world for these games. Who wants to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars only to have to deal with potential entry issues (or being denied entry completely) or being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (many of whom are unqualified in their roles) while traveling?
This regime has made travel to the U.S. less than desirable and an unwelcoming destination (something I don’t see changing for a long time). 77 million in the U.S. voted for this; get 10% of them to pickup the slack domestically (it’s the least they can do for their “dear orange leader”).
