Key Takeaways
- More than 52,000 additional short-term rentals were listed across U.S. World Cup host cities during the group stage, increasing supply by 12 percent from June 2025
- Hotel occupancy dipped during the tournament’s first 17 days, even as properties raised average room rates by roughly 20 percent
- Kansas City STR prices climbed 63 percent while hotel occupancy fell 8.5 percentage points, showing how differently the tournament affected the two lodging sectors
U.S. hotels entered the World Cup expecting a major booking surge. Instead, a wave of new short-term rentals gave price-conscious fans more places to stay and helped keep hotel occupancy below expectations.
More than 52,000 additional short-term rental listings appeared across U.S. host cities during the tournament’s group stage, increasing supply by 12 percent from a year earlier, according to AirDNA data reported by the Financial Times.
Hotel occupancy dipped during the first 17 days even as average room rates increased 20 percent from June 2025, according to CoStar and Tourism Economics.
New short-term rental supply gives World Cup fans more choices
The weak hotel performance was not entirely unexpected. A May survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found 80 percent of hotel respondents across the 11 U.S. host markets were tracking below their original World Cup booking forecasts.
Room block cancellations, high travel costs and concerns affecting international travel were among the biggest reasons cited.
But the latest numbers show travelers did not disappear entirely. Many appear to have chosen homes and apartments that offered more space and a lower per-person cost for families and groups. Airbnb also encouraged that supply growth by offering $750 bonuses to new hosts near major stadiums who welcomed their first guest before the end of July.
Related: Airbnb’s economic impact – $6.7 billion pumped into Brazil’s São Paulo state
Kansas City produced one of the clearest examples of the split. Average STR prices jumped 63 percent from June 2025 even as the city’s rental supply nearly doubled.
Hotels, meanwhile, recorded an 8.5 percentage point decline in occupancy.
A Dallas Airbnb host also told the Financial Times that one of her properties generated 78 percent more income during the tournament than it did during the same period last year.
Hotels were not completely shut out of the World Cup bump. Properties across U.S. host cities raised rates by an average of 20 percent, while luxury hotels benefited from teams, delegations and travelers willing to pay for prime locations.
Some hotels may also have deliberately prioritized higher rates over filling every available room.
Still, the tournament fell well short of the windfall many hotels expected. The Hotel Association of New York City now projects local hotels will generate about $160 million in additional World Cup revenue, roughly half of the $300 million forecast at the start of the year.
High match ticket prices and transportation costs may have pushed some fans to spend less on accommodations or skip the trip entirely.
The next question is what happens to all the new STR supply after the final match.
AirDNA said the overwhelming majority of the new listings were advertising availability beyond the tournament. Airbnb also retained more than half of the listings added for the 2024 Paris Olympics six months after the event, suggesting at least some of the World Cup’s new hosts could remain on the platform long after the crowds leave.
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