{"id":687547,"date":"2026-05-23T01:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T01:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687547\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T01:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T01:26:15","slug":"b-c-hotel-association-blames-bad-messaging-for-world-cup-vacancies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687547\/","title":{"rendered":"B.C. Hotel Association blames bad messaging for World Cup vacancies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The British Columbia Hotel Association is blaming flawed \u201cmessaging\u201d for vacancies heading into next month\u2019s FIFA World Cup, that has left tourists with the false impression no rooms are available.<\/p>\n

Instead, the association says June hotel occupancy rates in downtown Vancouver are pacing about 15 per cent behind the same period last year.<\/p>\n

It says the World Cup has \u201chas not generated the broad hotel demand many expected,\u201d although booking activity suggests travellers are making plans closer to arrival.<\/p>\n

The association says a move by FIFA to release previously booked blocks of rooms was partly behind the room inventory that \u201ccontinues to return to the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

It says it\u2019s time to switch to a simple message, that \u201cVancouver is ready, rooms are available, and visitors should make their plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The association\u2019s statement comes less than four weeks before June 13, when Vancouver hosts the first of seven World Cup matches in the city.<\/p>\n

Next month\u2019s occupancy rates across the broader Vancouver and Lower Mainland markets are meanwhile pacing about nine per cent behind June 2025, the association says.<\/p>\n

While fans have complained about being priced out of attending the World Cup due to ticket and accommodation costs, the association makes no mention of financial considerations in its breakdown of the reasons behind the vacancies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should also serve as a reminder that major events require balanced messaging, co-ordinated planning, and realistic expectations,\u201d the association says in the release.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerception matters in tourism. When consumers are repeatedly told there will be \u2018no rooms available,\u2019 many simply choose not to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

It says a false \u201cpublic story\u201d about the city being booked out \u201ccan reduce the very demand the event is meant to support.\u201d<\/p>\n

The association says recent visitor modelling also points to a \u201cdifferent mix of demand than many first assumed,\u201d saying a significant share of attendees are expected to be local or regional same-day visitors.<\/p>\n

Destination Vancouver said earlier this week that hotel bookings for June were down, but noted that air arrivals to Vancouver between June and August are up six per cent from last year.<\/p>\n

Vancouver is among 16 cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico that will host a combined 104 games during the expanded 48-team tournament, running June 11 through July 19. Toronto is hosting six matches.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2026.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

Add CityNews Vancouver as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\"Add
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The British Columbia Hotel Association is blaming flawed \u201cmessaging\u201d for vacancies heading into next month\u2019s FIFA World Cup,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-687547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}