The World Cup is here. The booking surge many hotels were expecting isn’t — at least not yet.
At the start of 2026, hotels hiked prices and set minimum-stay requirements in anticipation of the World Cup, according to Evan Saunders, senior vice president of travel at Azira, a consumer insights platform that works with tourism boards and hotels.
By the time March rolled around, properties faced a “reality check associated with the lack of demand.”
The hope from operators is that bookings within the 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada will spike once soccer fans know which teams are playing in later-stage matches. Early group-stage matches kick off Thursday afternoon in Mexico, but it’s still not clear which teams will advance to the knockout rounds that run from June 28 through the July 19 final.
“It’s right to say that at this point in time the pickup has not been what we expected, period,” Jonat
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