With less than a month to go before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Mexico, the National Association of Hotel Chains has warned that occupancy could be significantly lower than anticipated.
Hotel occupancy in Mexico’s three host cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — is projected to average between 60% and 65% during the tournament.
The forecast varies significantly from the one provided by the consultancy firm Deloitte in February, which estimated an average of more than 80% occupancy across the host cities during the World Cup.
What’s more, some 80% of tourist arrivals during the period will be coming to Mexico for reasons unrelated to the World Cup, according to the hotel organization.
“We had higher expectations, but June with the World Cup is better than June without it,” said Enrique Calderón, a member of the association’s Board of Directors.
According to the Mexico City Hotel Association, occupancy estimates are particularly pessimistic in the capital, with current reservations below those of summer 2025.
A similar story is emerging for short-term property renters, as many Airbnb hosts report lower-than-expected occupancy rates during the sporting event, according to the newspaper La Silla Rota.
Some Mexico City hosts have reported lowering prices due to a lack of bookings, even in the favored neighborhoods of Condesa, Roma and Coyoacán. They attribute the low demand to factors such as the perception of insecurity and generally reduced tourist traffic in all host cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada, the newspaper reported.
A similar trend in the United States
In the United States, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), which represents more than 32,000 properties, warned in a recent report that the reduced arrival estimate of international fans “threatens the overall economic impact” of the event.
The AHLA reported that reservations are far below expectations in almost all U.S. host cities and said that this situation contradicts FIFA’s claim that more than 5 million tickets have already been sold.
The AHLA reported that up to 70% of the hotel rooms FIFA had reserved in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle were canceled and suggested that the high level of FIFA reservations distorted the true perception of demand.
While some of the major host cities are concerned about their occupancy, others, such as Miami and Atlanta, are optimistic about the influx of fans during the summer months, which is typically their low season for tourism.
With reports from López-Dóriga Digital, Infobae and Bloomberg Línea
