{"id":34015,"date":"2026-05-08T10:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T08:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=34015"},"modified":"2026-05-08T10:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T08:43:14","slug":"us-fifa-world-cup-host-cities-hotel-bookings-less-than-anticipated","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/us-fifa-world-cup-host-cities-hotel-bookings-less-than-anticipated\/","title":{"rendered":"US FIFA World Cup host cities hotel bookings less than anticipated"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"ltr\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">A new report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) has found that anticipated demand has not translated into strong hotel bookings at hotels in US cities hosting matches in this year\u2019s FIFA World Cup.<\/div>\n<div id=\"x_ms-outlook-mobile-signature\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div>The report cites FIFA room block cancellations, international travel barriers, geo-political concerns and rising costs as key drivers of the softened hotel demand.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div>The report found that 80% of establishments surveyed had bookings tracking below initial forecasts, with visa barriers and broader geopolitical concerns significantly suppressing international demand.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div>The report says FIFA room block overcommitment created an artificial early demand signal that has since recalibrated.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div>Only limited markets that have a strong leisure component or have been confirmed as team base camps are seeing meaningful incremental uplift.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div>The AHLA\u2019s Chief Executive Officer and President Rosanna Maietta called on the United States and FIFA to ensure a welcoming and seamless experience for international travelers by avoiding unnecessary cost increases including for visas and transportation among others.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\u2014SABC\u2014<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21798,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-34015","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The report says FIFA room block overcommitment created an artificial early demand signal that has since recalibrated.","published_date":"","news_description":"The report says FIFA room block overcommitment created an artificial early demand signal that has since recalibrated.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34016,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34015\/revisions\/34016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}