Survey finds World Cup hotel bookings below forecasts in U.S. host markets

The Lancaster Hotel, a downtown property marking its 100th anniversary this year, expected a record-breaking summer. Business is picking up, but most of it is corporate travel, not World Cup visitors, Click2Houston reported. Staff at the hotel said they checked with other downtown properties and found similar conditions.

“I think they sold us as something really big… and we just don’t see those numbers yet,” Emre Ozsut of the Lancaster said. “We are supposed to be sold out, have no rooms, but everyone has availability,” he added. The hotel has removed restrictions and readjusted prices, Ozsut said.

Survey finds bookings below forecasts

The American Hotel & Lodging Association survey of hotels in the 11 U.S. metropolitan areas hosting matches found at least 80% of respondents reported bookings tracking below initial forecasts. Around 65% of respondents cited visa barriers and broader geopolitical concerns as issues suppressing demand, the report said.

In Dallas and Houston, a subset of that survey, 70% of respondents reported a booking pace below World Cup expectations and largely in line with a typical June and July, “pointing to a limited incremental lift from the tournament,” the Texas Tribune reported. Rosanna Maietta, AHLA president and CEO, said a range of factors had tempered early optimism, though “forward indicators show there is still meaningful opportunity ahead.”

Houston First reports year-on-year gains

Houston First Corporation reported year-on-year gains, a different measure from the AHLA survey's comparison with World Cup expectations. It said hotel booking pace in Houston is up 17% in June and 14% in July compared with last year, while international air bookings through the city’s airports are up 33% in June. Short-term rental bookings in the Houston area are up 53% for June and July compared with the same period last year.

“We expect that World Cup will help deliver a better than normal June and early July in the Houston hotel market,” Houston First President and CEO Michael Heckman said in a statement. “Bookings are up year over year and we anticipate they will continue to climb as we get closer to the tournament.”

FIFA releases hotel blocks

FIFA canceled hotel block reservations in Dallas and Arlington earlier this year, the Texas Tribune reported. Across the country, about 70% of FIFA's group blocks have been released, according to the AHLA report, which did not provide city-level data. Hoteliers told the association those mass bookings had “created an artificial early demand signal.” FIFA said the releases followed “contractually agreed timelines” and called the move “standard practice” for large events. FIFA also said global demand was “unprecedented, with more than five million tickets sold.”

Costs and travel barriers

Ticket prices for the 2026 tournament are significantly higher than for the 2022 and 2018 World Cups, with some matches above $1,000 and seats for the final at MetLife Stadium near $33,000, the Dallas Express reported. The U.S. was the only major nation to register a decline in tourism in 2025, the Texas Tribune reported. Research firm Tourism Economics projects more than 1.2 million international visitors for the tournament.

Local officials say ticket sales remain strong and expect matches to sell out, though much of that demand may be domestic. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo pushed back on the early booking numbers: “75% of ticket sales have been international; they have to stay somewhere,” she said.

What happens next

The tournament opens on 11 June in Mexico City and ends with the final in New Jersey on 19 July. Texas hosts 16 matches: nine at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and seven at NRG Stadium in Houston.