While Los Angeles is set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June, leaders in the Southern California hotel industry Tuesday sounded the alarm that many hotels in the LA area are not filling up.
Nearly 70% of LA-area hotels said their bookings are below expectations, according to new research by the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
“The truth is in the numbers. I don’t make this up. These are facts,” Jeff Zarrinnam, hotel director of the Hollywood Hotel said, adding that his hotel is only about 37% booked in the month of June. Zarrinnam predicted the booking rate could jump to 65% next month. Similarly in the month of July, 35% of the Hollywood Hotel is booked with the possibility of the figure increasing to 75%.
According to Zarrinnam, every summer, the Hollywood Hotel was more than 90% booked. But he said STR Hotel Research, which provides market data on the hotel industry worldwide, currently shows hotels across Hollywood and Beverly Hills are on average at 28% occupancy during the World Cup.
“Hollywood is the bellwether indicator of what’s happening in the city in general,” he said.
Zarrinnam suspected higher hotel rates, driven by higher hotel workers’ minimum wage, are turning off visitors. Also pricey World Cup tickets may have pushed away fans.
Natalia Vasquez, a World Cup fan from Colombia, said she expected to pay more than ever after having attended three World Cups.
“They are very, very expensive,” Vasquez said. “For the first time, the ticket was in $1,100. Each ticket, each.”
The soccer fan said when she attended the games in Russia, she paid for three tickets for $1,100 total.
When the American Hotel + Lodging Association put out new numbers that nearly 70% of LA area hotels are underperforming for the World Cup window, it cited immigration visa barriers and a decline in international visitors, among other issues.
In a move that could hurt the local hotel industry, the LA City Council is considering allowing people who own second homes to rent them out as Airbnbs.