{"id":238813,"date":"2026-04-07T14:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/238813\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T14:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:31:14","slug":"city-with-most-world-cup-matches-faces-hotel-cancellations-months-before-the-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/238813\/","title":{"rendered":"City With Most World Cup Matches Faces Hotel Cancellations Months Before The Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

FIFA has recently canceled thousands of its 2026 World Cup hotel block reservations<\/a>, initially sparking concerns among fans. While FIFA clarifies that it has previously made such cancelations, officials in Arlington, Texas\u2014which is hosting the most World Cup matches at the AT&T Stadium\u2014have acknowledged that hotel demand is indeed slower than expected.<\/p>\n

Anti-U.S. sentiment is cited as a major factor. This comes amid growing calls for a boycott of the World Cup in the U.S. from sports fans, politicians, and leaders of 20 European soccer federations. Here’s how the global perception of the U.S. is shaping its anticipated World Cup “tourism boom.”<\/p>\n

Anti-U.S. Sentiment Cited As Factor In Slower Hotel Demand In Arlington, Texas<\/p>\n

Brent DeRaad, president of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that anti-U.S. sentiment and stricter visa processes could be keeping hotel demand lower than expected in Arlington, Texas, three months before the World Cup. While he remains optimistic about “sellouts” in the major host city, which will host nine matches, DeRaad says shorter stays are more likely to dominate bookings.<\/p>\n

“We anticipate sellouts in Arlington, certainly the night before matches and then match nights,” DeRaad said<\/a>. “But we may not have that week or two-week-long activity consecutively that we would have otherwise with a group filling those rooms.”<\/p>\n

Bob Heere, professor of sports management at the University of North Texas, added that World Cup games in Arlington may sell out. Still, the crowds will likely be domestic rather than international. “The policies of the American government in recent years have sent a clear signal to the rest of the world,” Heere explained. “Many of them are concerned about coming to the United States.”<\/p>\n

\"Official
\n Official FIFA World Cup 2026 host city posterCredit:\u00a0Erman Gunes<\/a>\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

According to Heere, Americans are also willing to spend more on World Cup tickets than international fans, driving record-high demand and prices. As for entry challenges, fans and players from several nations that have qualified for the World Cup are currently subject to a $15,000 visa bond<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aside from anxieties about U.S. politics and stricter visa rules, many FIFA fans are also forced to rethink their trips due to high hotel room prices<\/a>, surging an average of over 300% for opening matches. Houston leads the price spike among U.S. cities, with rates increasing by 457%.<\/p>\n

Why FIFA Canceled Thousands Of Hotel Reservations Across Host Cities Including Arlington And Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Downtown
\n Downtown Dallas skyline in TexasCredit:\u00a0f11photo<\/a>\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

FIFA recently sparked concerns after making a “routine” cancelation of thousands of hotel reservations across host cities in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. A spokesperson for the organization told KERA that it was mainly due to overbooking, rather than the growing calls to boycott the event.<\/p>\n

“These rooms were set aside for FIFA staff, media organizations, and tournament operational stakeholders,” said the FIFA representative. “As attendance numbers become more concrete closer to the start of matches, FIFA adjusts hotel room bookings accordingly.”<\/p>\n

These rooms will now return to the market, giving fans more options in the next weeks or months. As DeRaad said, Arlington is expecting bookings to increase closer to the World Cup. He admits it is a “little nerve-wracking,” but “more than half” of hotel rooms booked in the city are booked within 14 days of the stay.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Dallas hotel reservations are up, according to Visit Dallas’ Zane Harrington. AirDNA<\/a> data also shows that demand for short-term rentals in Dallas this June has seen a 150% bump. Despite worries about international demand, North Texas alone is set to generate $2 billion in economic activity during the World Cup.<\/p>\n

U.S. Host Cities Scale Back World Cup Events Amid Growing International Boycott Calls<\/p>\n

\"FIFA
\n FIFA World Cup trophy with the U.S. flag in the backgroundCredit:\u00a0Paparacy\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

A shortfall in international tourism projections has forced several U.S. host cities to quietly cancel or scale back World Cup fan festivals and other public events. Back in June 2025, the FIFA World Cup 2026 NYNJ Host Committee announced that they would host the FIFA Fan Festival NYNJ at Liberty State Park, but it was later canceled in February this year.<\/p>\n

U.S. host cities have been hit by growing boycott calls and international safety warnings. In a press release sent via email to TheTravel, a Coalition of Human Rights Organizations warned that Florida “is no longer a safe destination for international tourists.”<\/a> <\/p>\n

The state is hosting seven World Cup matches at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. These warnings come amid the tourism “Trump Slump,” which has led to a 6% drop in foreign visitors to the U.S. in 2025, while the rest of the world saw significant tourism growth.<\/p>\n

U.S. Host Cities Face Massive Security Expenses<\/p>\n

\"Hard
\n Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be heldCredit:\u00a0Shutterstock<\/p>\n

On top of these security and boycott issues, host cities also feel financial pressures under the FIFA Hosting Model. FIFA retains 100% of ticket sales and global sponsorship, while host cities fund official fan fests, often supported through federal grants or private donors.<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) just gave $625 million in security funding to 11 World Cup host cities in March amid the ongoing U.S. government’s partial shutdown.<\/p>\n

That means host cities have to spend massive amounts on 24\/7 security and crowd control in fan zones. On Thursday (April 2), King County Executive Girmay Zahilay proposed a $25 million budget to secure Seattle’s six FIFA World Cup matches <\/a>this June, with the bulk of it meant for additional personnel for safety operations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FIFA has recently canceled thousands of its 2026 World Cup hotel block reservations, initially sparking concerns among fans.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151],"class_list":["post-238813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}