2026 World Cup Travel Boom Uneven, Pricing Power Key for Host Cities

The 2026 World Cup is expected to bring a wave of global soccer fans to North America. But the travel boom is shaping up to look less like one uniform surge and more like a city-by-city, match-by-match test of pricing power.

"Demand is real and positive, but it's not evenly distributed across host cities," said Jay Wardle, president of travel data intelligence company Sojern.

New flight-booking data from Sojern shows most U.S. and Canadian host cities are seeing year-over-year gains for the tournament window, led by Houston and Dallas. But Seattle and all three Mexican host cities are trailing last year's pace.

The tournament kicks off Thursday in Mexico City and runs through mid-July, ending with the final at New York New Jersey Stadium — better known as MetLife Stadium — in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is the biggest World Cup ever, with 48 teams, 104 matches and games across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

For hotels, restaurants, airlines, ride-sharing companies and host cities, the pitch has been straightforward: more teams, more games, more fans and more spending.

FIFA has projected the event could contribute up to $17.2 billion to U.S. GDP.

But Deutsche Bank said even if it brings 1.2 million international fans to North America, the overall economic impact will likely be limited in a U.S. economy of this size — amounting to a short-term GDP lift of roughly 0.05% if FIFA's estimate is reached.

Hotels and Airbnb

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The financial bonanza is likely to be split unevenly among cities, hotels, restaurants and other tourism-dependent businesses.

Airbnb said it is expecting its best event ever, surpassing the 2024 Paris Olympics. The company expects to benefit from families and groups looking for larger accommodations or lower per-person costs.

It could also benefit from how long travelers are staying. Sojern's data shows more than three-quarters of World Cup travelers plan to spend six to 12 nights at their destination.

"We're pretty enthusiastic about the impact of FIFA as we look at booking patterns coming into the summer," Marriott CEO Tony Capuano told CNBC. "We're seeing really strong demand patterns in both FIFA and non-FIFA cities in the U.S."

Capuano said Marriott expects the World Cup to lift U.S. revenue per available room by about 40 basis points.

Marriott, the world's largest hotel chain, said it's particularly well-positioned because of its brand recognition and rewards ecosystem.

"Because of the breadth of our global footprint, we have deep experience, whether it's FIFA, whether it's the Olympics, Super Bowl," Capuano said. "The booking patterns we're seeing are tracking pretty closely with our expectations."

Capuano said some release of FIFA room blocks had been anticipated and that current bookings are "right on track" with Marriott's forecast. The bigger variable, he said, will be the later rounds, when travel demand could shift depending on which national teams advance.

Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming, said South Florida is already seeing World Cup-related momentum. Allen said more than half of tickets for games in the Miami area are being purchased by locals, while the rest are coming from tourists.

He said Miami's deep ties to Central and South America are helping drive demand, along with the region's existing tourism infrastructure and soccer culture.

For Hard Rock, Allen said the World Cup is already producing high-end international traffic. He said the company is seeing guests from multiple continents, including some staying at Hard Rock properties for the first time.

He also said casino play tied to the event is exceeding normal levels and rivaling the kind of activity Hard Rock sees around major events such as the Super Bowl and Formula One.

'Still finalizing plans'

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Sojern's flight booking data shows nearly an 8% increase in Miami, with New York showing nearly the same boost. Dallas-Fort Worth is seeing a roughly 10% jump and nearly 13% increase in Houston.

But not all cities are seeing the same lift. For instance, Seattle's flight bookings are nearly 21% lower than this time last year.

The expanded World Cup format means more inventory and more tickets to sell across more matches. Marquee games, host-nation matches and the final are still expected to command premium demand. But lower-profile group-stage matches in large NFL stadiums have been harder to fill, especially with ticket prices remaining high, on par with Super Bowl-level scarcity.

That creates a pricing challenge. Host cities and hotel owners prepared for a once-in-a-generation event. But fans are making practical decisions: which match is worth the trip, how far they are willing to travel, whether to stay in a hotel or short-term rental, and whether prices still make sense.

Rosanna Maietta, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, said hotel demand in host cities has "evolved differently than many initially anticipated," driven in part by lower-than-expected international visitation.

A survey by the industry group in April showed 80% of respondents reported reservations weren't meeting expectations. Some were furious that FIFA had canceled large room blocks it had previously booked.

But she said AHLA members are now seeing demand pick up, consistent with shorter booking windows for major events.

"Unlike typical leisure travel, many visitors are still finalizing plans and securing tickets," Maietta said. "The industry expects some acceleration of late bookings in the lead-up to individual games and we believe stadium attendance will be strong."

Sojern said 35% of hotel bookings in World Cup host cities historically occur in the final seven days before travel.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino downplayed any concerns about disappointing results in travel. He told CNBC's Sara Eisen on Tuesday, "We should make the analysis after the end of the World Cup. We have never seen so many ticket requests. "

watch now

Deutsche Bank said hotel real estate investment trusts with greater exposure to full-service hotels could benefit from World Cup demand as team delegations, sponsors and business groups use not just rooms, but meeting spaces and food-and-beverage outlets. The firm has generally baked a 50- to 75-basis-point revenue per available room lift into its hotel REIT models tied to the tournament. It also expects luxury hotels to benefit more than economy properties.

Restaurants may be better positioned to benefit broadly. Deutsche Bank said foodservice companies should get a lift from both tourism and watch parties, especially restaurants near stadiums and host cities, delivery-heavy concepts such as pizza and wings, and sports bars showing games during North American time zones.

Derek Evans, CEO of the Marcus Samuelsson Group, told CNBC that in the restaurant business, it's too early to count his chickens.

"You haven't seen fandom really kick in yet," he said. "When your country's team starts winning that's when travel budgets go out the window."

Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft could also see increased demand around matches.

The key question for host cities is whether even the biggest sporting event in the world has a price ceiling.

Disclosure: CNBC parent Versant carries NBC Sports-produced Olympic coverage on its networks, including USA Network and CNBC.