L.A. hotels are still waiting for a World Cup boost
Hotel rooms in Los Angeles and other cities hosting the FIFA World Cup may remain empty despite high expectations that the global sporting event will be a boon for the city.
With more than 5 million tickets sold so far, the football tournament has historically triggered a surge in international and local tourism and provided an economic boost to host cities.
But this year, 80% of hotels surveyed by the American Hotel and Lodging Assn. He stated that reservations fell behind initial estimates. The hotel association partly blamed FIFA for the slowdown, saying the organization had overbooked blocks of hotel rooms that did not reflect real demand.
Increased flight ticket and gasoline prices due to the conflict in Iran also disrupt travel. Visa barriers and broader geopolitical concerns are weighing on demand for international travel, the report said.
“With only two months left until the launch phase, indicators suggest that the anticipated economic upturn may fall short of expectations,” the report said. The number of tickets sold for the tournament “has not yet translated into strong hotel bookings.”
In Los Angeles, where World Cup matches will be played at SoFi stadium next month, more than 65% of hotel respondents said room reservations were below forecast demand.
Most survey respondents said bookings were even behind a typical summer season.
Hotels in Los Angeles cited visa complications and long distances from the venue as obstacles to bookings. According to the report, FIFA booked and canceled thousands of rooms in downtown Los Angeles.
Prior to all World Cup tournaments, FIFA puts large blocks of rooms on hold at various properties for FIFA staff, media and other stakeholders. As the tournament approaches, FIFA will adjust its plans according to demand.
“The release of all rooms was carried out in accordance with the contractually agreed timelines with the hotel partners, which is standard practice for an event of this scale,” a FIFA spokesperson said in a statement. “Throughout the planning process, FIFA’s Hospitality team held consistent discussions with hotel stakeholders.”
The spokesman added that global demand for the 2026 World Cup is unprecedented.
“The overcommitment of the FIFA room block created an artificial early demand signal that has since unraveled,” the Hotel Association said in its report. “Many hotels show that early booking signals exaggerate actual demand.”
Nearly half of hotel respondents reported blocks of previously booked rooms being canceled or released, the report said.
Journalist and author Simon Kuper, who writes about football economics, said the staggering prices of this year’s World Cup tickets could also keep fans away. The face value of the tickets rose to $7,875.
“All the ticket prices for this World Cup are unthinkable for previous World Cups,” Kuper said. “This is a fairly new phenomenon.”
FIFA is forecasting revenues of between $11 billion and $13 billion for the four-year World Cup cycle, which will end when the tournament ends.
However, Los Angeles is expecting a big jump in tourism for the World Cup in June and the 2028 Olympic Games.
For an industry going through tough times, this would be welcome.
Last year, tourist spending in Los Angeles fell for the first time since the start of the pandemic as wildfires, raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and trade tensions deterred people from visiting, including Canadian tourists who traditionally flock to Palm Springs and other cities in Southern California during the winter months.
International airborne Ridership into LA County dropped more than 30% from August to November of 2025. Current international arrivals in Los Angeles are lower than in previous months, but the state saw a 3% increase overall last year.
The Los Angeles market “faces a variety of challenges that are negatively impacting hotel performance expectations,” said Ralph Posner, chief communications officer for the American Hotel and Lodging Assn.
“Los Angeles’ alleged hotel underperformance is compounded by a unique combination of early FIFA block overcommitment, visa hurdles and concerns about operating costs creating artificial demand,” he said. “The market was positioned as the flagship host city but is now closing the gap between expectation and reality.”
Rising hotel room costs in host cities is also a deterrent factor. For example, the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle, within walking distance of Lumen Field, rents a King guest room for less than $300 the weekend before the World Cup. For the weekend of the USA game there, the cost for the same room is more than $1,000.
To save on costs, some fans are choosing to stay away from venues or find alternative accommodations such as Airbnb. Airbnb’s finance chief said the World Cup is expected to be the biggest event in the company’s history.
The hotel association said although initial signs were bad, things could get better.
“We’re hopeful that momentum will pick up ahead of the games over the next few weeks,” Posner said.
Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.
