Hotels in the United States in Trouble Before the World Cup

A report issued by the American Hotel and Lodging Association warned that hotels in the cities hosting the 2026 World Cup in the United States are facing a significant gap between expectations and actual bookings, which threatens the anticipated "tourism boom" with failure.

The report indicated that booking levels in most cities are much lower than expected, despite statements from the International Federation of Football that more than five million tickets have been sold so far.

The association accuses FIFA of causing an "artificial demand" by pre-booking large quantities of hotel rooms and then canceling a significant portion of them later, which led to inflated prices and then a sharp decline in demand.

According to the report, up to 70% of the rooms previously booked by the union in cities such as Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle were canceled, creating a state of confusion in the hotel market.

On the other hand, the international federation rejected these accusations, affirming that it adhered to the contracts signed with the hotels and that the release of the rooms was carried out within the agreed timelines. It also clarified that these procedures are considered a normal practice in major events, pointing out the ongoing coordination with hotel partners throughout the preparation period for the tournament.

While some entities like "Airbnb" expect the event to be the largest in their history in terms of hosting, experts believe that rising prices and travel costs may limit the influx of crowds, especially from outside the United States.

With only a few weeks left until the start of the tournament, the hotel sector fears that the tournament may not achieve the expected economic return that was previously promoted.