- Lodging demand for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to boost U.S. hotel RevPAR by 1.7% year over year during the months of June and July, according to a recent report from CoStar and Tourism Economics.
- Specifically, host markets for the international soccer tournament are poised to see RevPAR growth of 12.7% year over year during the World Cup months and a 3.8% increase for the whole year.
- While such a lift is considered “modest,” it nonetheless represents “a meaningful contribution to the overall hotel industry growth in 2026,” per the report.
Dive Insight:
According to Isaac Collazo, STR’s senior director of analytics, CoStar and Tourism Economics’ RevPAR forecast is “tempered due to the uncertainty surrounding international inbound travel, which fell in 2025 due to policy and perception changes.”
“Still, a 1.7 increase would be noticeably better than the months before (-0.4%) and after (+1.0%) the World Cup,” he said in a statement.
For the full-year 2026, RevPAR is expected to increase by 0.6% year over year, following a 0.3% decrease in 2025. Without the World Cup, U.S. RevPAR growth would be 40 basis points lower at 0.2%, per the report.
For host markets, in particular, without the World Cup, RevPAR would be expected to grow by 2% year over year.
“While there is upside for the host markets, the impact to the total U.S. average is negligible due to the underlying weakness expected elsewhere,” Collazo said.
Although previous reports showed a soft start to bookings, CoStar and Tourism Economics’ data shows an uptick in occupancy starting on June 12, the date of the first U.S. match, and remaining elevated until July 4. Occupancy levels then start to taper off to “the softer pace observed in the days leading up to the tournament’s start,” the report said.
The last time the U.S. held the World Cup in 1994, RevPAR rose 6.9% year over year in June and July, largely on a 5% increase in ADR, per the report. Top-line performance during the 2026 World Cup will be “almost entirely” on a 1.6% lift on ADR.
The report comes as several hotel group leaders have said they are optimistic about the World Cup reviving hospitality demand in the U.S. after sluggish travel activity, in part due to heightened economic turmoil, trade policy uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
IHG Hotels & Resorts CEO Elie Maloouf said during a fourth-quarter earnings call that he expects the World Cup to revive domestic travel and bring additional demand to its U.S. hotels. Choice Hotels International is also hopeful the event will improve domestic performance. During its Q4 earnings call, Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings shared that his company is developing a strategy to take advantage of the Los Angeles matches’ proximity to its Las Vegas hotels.
Meanwhile, hotel loyalty program Marriott Bonvoy is partnering with FIFA World Cup 2026 as its official hotel supporter. It plans to leverage its 30-plus brands to provide exclusive fan packages and “unmatched fan access” through “immersive hotel stays, exclusive packages, and one-of-a-kind drops,” per a news release.
