World Cup fell short for hotels

The 2026 FIFA World Cup brought higher room rates to many U.S. hotel markets, but it did not deliver the broad-based occupancy surge many operators had expected. Scotsman Guide reported on August 5 that the tournament was “not quite the glowing success” the hotel sector had anticipated, citing CoStar data and CBRE’s latest outlook. CBRE still raised its 2026 U.S. hotel forecast this week, but said the upgrade came from business travel and convention demand rather than a larger World Cup effect. AHLA had warned before the tournament that bookings were already trailing expectations in most host cities. In its May 4 World Cup hotel outlook, the trade group said 80% of surveyed hoteliers across 11 U.S. host markets reported bookings below initial forecasts, while only about 25% to 30% said they were seeing meaningful incremental lift. (scotsmanguide.com) ### If fans filled stadiums, why didn’t hotels see a bigger boom? CoStar told Bisnow, as cited by Scotsman Guide, that World Cup visitors needed rooms but many business and leisure travelers stayed away from the 11 U.S. host cities, offsetting much of the gain. Scotsman Guide said high hotel prices and expensive match tickets also deterred some foreign travelers, while travel bans and visa restrictions weighed on inbound demand. (ahla.com) Rosanna Maietta, president and chief executive of AHLA, said in May that “the data points to a more nuanced outlook.” AHLA said visa barriers, geopolitical concerns, FIFA room-block overcommitment and rising costs were among the main reasons early optimism faded. ### Which markets held up better, and which did not? Atlanta and Miami were among the stronger U.S. host markets, according to Travel Weekly’s report on AHLA survey data. (scotsmanguide.com) Travel Weekly said roughly half of Atlanta respondents reported bookings in line with or ahead of expectations, helped by team base camps and air connectivity, while about 55% of Miami respondents said pace was ahead of typical summer levels. (ahla.com) Kansas City was the weakest market in AHLA’s survey, with roughly 85% to 90% of respondents reporting booking pace below expectations. Travel Weekly said Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle were described by nearly 80% of respondents as a “non-event” because of room releases and weak international fan travel. ### Did hotels make money anyway? (travelweekly.com) Los Angeles shows the split between rate growth and occupancy growth. Scotsman Guide said CoStar found that on World Cup match days from June 11 to July 25, Los Angeles hotel average daily rate rose 23% year over year to $244.09 and revenue per available room climbed 25% to $178.65, while occupancy increased only about 2% to 73%. (ahla.com) SportsTravel reported on July 7 that first-week results across host cities were mixed, with some destinations posting occupancy gains versus last year and others struggling, in part because of elevated rates. The publication said the outcome depended on the mix of visiting fans, the host city’s tourism base and the strength of local sports and hospitality infrastructure. (scotsmanguide.com) ### Why did CBRE raise its hotel forecast anyway? CBRE said in its midyear 2026 hotel outlook that it now expects U.S. RevPAR growth of 2.5% this year, up from 1.2% earlier. The firm said the World Cup’s contribution to RevPAR growth was revised down to 0.5 to 0.8 percentage points from 0.8 to 1.1 points because of room-block cancellations, high long-haul airfares and steep ticket prices. (sportstravelmagazine.com) CBRE said stronger domestic business travel and convention demand more than offset that shortfall. The firm said convention-linked group RevPAR was up 5.4% year over year by April 2026 and identified business transient and group demand as the main near-term growth driver after a weak 2025. ### What does this leave hotel owners watching next? (cbre.com) CBRE’s 2026 outlook now calls for occupancy to rise to 62.8% this year and 63.0% in 2027, with ADR growth of 1.7% in both years. AHLA said its World Cup outlook covered Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle, making those markets the clearest reference points for post-event comparisons. (cbre.com)