Empty rooms and Fifa cancellations - US hotels fear World Cup washout

BBC News ^ | 20 May 2026 | Dale Johnson

[MinorityRepublican]

The World Cup was supposed to provide a tourism boom for the US, but now the fear is it may never materialise.

A report, external produced by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has found that bookings are well below expectations in almost every host city.

The AHLA said this does not align with Fifa's statement that more than five million tickets have been sold,, external and it creates a risk that "the anticipated economic lift may fall short".

The AHLA is the largest hotel association in the US, representing more than 32,000 properties and over 80% of all franchised hotels.

Its report partially puts the blame at the door of Fifa, accusing world football's governing body of block-booking far too many rooms for its own use and creating false demand.

This, the AHLA said, led to artificially high pricing which, after Fifa cancelled a large number of rooms, has been replaced by a vacuum of availability.

Fifa said it does not recognise this accusation.

---

TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: worldcup

[dfwgator]

Woke. Ruins. Lives.

---

Trump said it best.

[monkeyshine]

I would bet they did in fact sell 5 million tickets, but that many of them were bought in anticipation of being resold on Stubhub type exchanges for a profit.

Hotels and flights are a better gauge of how many people will come. Maybe many of the cities hosting games will be viewed live by people who can drive in and out for the day.

In any case, the free market drives it. Air and lodging is expensive and a bit of a hassle especially for foreigners trying to get in. I don’t know exactly where each of the major teams are playing or where the brackets will be located but it may involve 2 or 3 flights for each person who wants to come in. For example if you had to fly from Dusseldorf to London to New York to Wherever in America. That’s closing in on 24 hours just for travel.

[monkeyshine]

Yeah, the Rams Sofi Stadium is apx $120 for an on-lot ticket with a 3/4 mile hike to the entrance. $100’s for a good spot and more for “valet”. But it is Los Angeles, some people here can throw that money around here. I presume Dallas also has its share of ballers.

For the World Cup, these arenas might have to do what Vegas has done and create an expanded “Rideshare” zone for cars to come in and out to pick up/drop off travelers. Foreign travelers likely won’t be doing much driving. I can only imagine what a trip would cost a foreigner - air, lodging, transportation... and what if your team goes all the way to the final? Will you stick around and fly to different cities? That may also be a factor why bookings are down - people will have to choose last minute whether and where to go to see their team if the team advances.

[Celtic Conservative]

What did they expect when they made tickets $11,000?

CC

[Maskot]

😉

Yep

[dfwgator]

Another reason having the WC in a big country is dumb, multiple countries even dumber.

It’s much better when it’s a small European country, where the venues are all close by.

Even Qatar was better.

[wally_bert]

I had a run in with some little old Karens who acted like they were guarding the Mona Lisa when I walked into the wrong exhibit building.

One of them followed me for a minute flipped out.

It was early in the day before the fair opened. It was my shift on the production truck for a few live shows that day.

Another reason, it is exactly the same every time. It’s crowded, noisy, overpriced, and dirty.

[Envisioning]

Here in Texas they are advertising Dallas as one of the host cities, but the matches will be held at AT&T stadium in Arlington, nearly an hour away depending on traffic. People booking hotels in Dallas will have to travel another hour to see the event.

I couldn’t care less, but the whole affair seems like BS to me…..

[Fledermaus]

Wow. Arlington in that area is so flat.

Used to be nothing south of Six Flags and the old, old Rangers stadium.

I opened the Sheraton hotel there.

[DAC21]

“The last I heard, the Seattle Sounders had higher attendance than the Mariners”

Mariners 82 home games a year, Sounders 17. Hardly an Apples to Apples comparison.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

If I want to see a bunch of fawns prancing around, I'll buy a copy of Bambi.

[FLT-bird]

Yeah, that's the elephant in the room no one is talking about. The powers that be have been trying to ram soccer down our throats for years.

Yep. I remember them trying to hype Pele and claiming soccer was going to be the next big thing when I was a little kid in the 70s. I played for 2 years before getting old enough to play football. That's the normal pattern.

[griswold3]

Caitlyn is not playing tonight (back injury). Just don’t watch much else

[bray]

Nobody in America wants to watch soccer.

[MinorityRepublican]

The 2022 FIFA World Cup Final between Argentina and France reached an average cross-platform audience of nearly 26 million viewers in the United States, making it the second most-watched men’s World Cup match in U.S. television and streaming history.

[hal ogen]

Who watches this pathetic “sport”? It is a game of losers.