white and gray Adidas soccerball on lawn grass

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has released the FIFA World Cup 2026 Hotel Outlook, a report highlighting the challenges the hotel industry is facing as the U.S. prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Anticipated demand has not translated into strong hotel bookings.

Key findings from the report include:

80% of respondents say hotel bookings are tracking below initial forecasts.
65 – 70% of respondents across markets say visa barriers and broader geopolitical concerns are significantly suppressing international demand. These factors consistently rank as the top constraint on World Cup-driven travel.
FIFA room block overcommitment created an artificial early demand signal that has since recalibrated, with roughly half of respondents in host markets reporting material room block releases.
Only a limited subset of markets – those with strong baseline leisure demand or confirmed team base camps – are seeing meaningful incremental uplift, representing roughly 25 – 30% of respondents overall.

Market-by-market analysis found:

Kansas City – Roughly 85-90% of respondents report booking pace below expectations, trailing a typical June or July without any major events.
Los Angeles – Nearly 65-70% of respondents report booking pace below expectations, often in line with or lagging behind a typical summer. Approximately half cite visa barriers, high labor costs, and distance from venues as meaningful constraints, alongside broader city policy challenges that continue to complicate operations.
New York City – Approximately two-thirds of respondents reported softer-than-expected bookings that nonetheless track with normal summer demand. More than 60% of New York City operators point to international travel barriers and geopolitical concerns influencing the soft bookings.
Dallas and Houston – Approximately 70% of respondents report booking pace below World Cup expectations, though still broadly in line with a typical June or July, indicating limited incremental lift from the tournament.
Atlanta – Roughly 50% of respondents report booking pace in line with or ahead of expectations – and ahead of a typical June or July – driven largely by team base camps, strong air connectivity, and diversified demand sources.
Miami – Approximately 55% of respondents reported booking pace ahead of expectations and typical summer benchmarks, as the market captures World Cup-adjacent leisure demand and offsets broader international travel headwinds.
Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle – Nearly 80% of respondents report booking pace below expectations and behind a typical summer, with many describing the tournament as a “non-event” due to FIFA room releases and weak international fan travel.

Read more here.