2026 World Cup: Accommodation war looms in U.S as FIFA, hoteliers clash

A disagreement has broken out between FIFA and hotel groups in the United States over hotel bookings for the upcoming World Cup.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association says FIFA made large early bookings across many cities, which made hotels think demand would be very high. Because of this, hotels invested in staff and pricing based on those expectations.

However, the association now claims that many of those bookings about 70% in cities like Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle have been cancelled.

They say this created “fake demand” and gave a misleading picture of how many tourists would actually come.

FIFA has denied this. It says all bookings and cancellations followed agreed contracts with hotels and were part of normal planning for a big global event. FIFA also says it worked closely with hotels throughout the process and made adjustments when needed.

Meanwhile, hotel prices in host cities rose sharply after the World Cup draw, when fans found out where matches would be played.

Prices have dropped a bit recently but are still high, with some rooms costing over $300 per night in major cities.

Because of the high cost, many fans are now choosing to stay outside city centers to save money.

Despite the disagreement, hotel groups expect demand to increase as the tournament gets closer and more fans finalize their travel plans.