World Cup travel boost hasn’t materialized for U.S. businesses, yet

The 2026 World Cup is expected to bring a wave of global soccer fans to North America. But the travel boom is shaping up to look less like one uniform surge and more like a city-by-city, match-by-match test of pricing power.

“Demand is real and positive, but it’s not evenly distributed across host cities,” said Jay Wardle, president of travel data intelligence company Sojern.

New flight-booking data from Sojern shows most U.S. and Canadian host cities are seeing year-over-year gains for the tournament window, led by Houston and Dallas. But Seattle and all three Mexican host cities are trailing last year’s pace.

The tournament kicks off Thursday in Mexico City and runs through mid-July, ending with the final at New York New Jersey Stadium — better known as MetLife Stadium — in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is the biggest World Cup ever, with 48 teams, 104 matches and games across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

For hotels, restaurants, airlines, ride-sharing companies and host cities, the pitch has been straightforward: more teams, more games, more fans and more spending.

FIFA has projected the event could contribute up to $17.2 billion to U.S. GDP.

But Deutsche Bank said even if it brings 1.2 million international fans to North America, the overall economic impact will likely be limited in a U.S. economy of this size — amounting to a short-term GDP lift of roughly 0.05% if FIFA’s estimate is reached.

Airbnb said it is expecting its best event ever, surpassing the  2024 Paris Olympics. The company expects to benefit from families and groups looking for larger accommodations or lower per-person costs.

It could also benefit from how long travelers are staying. Sojern’s data shows more than three-quarters of World Cup travelers plan to spend six to 12 nights at their destination.

“We’re pretty enthusiastic about the impact of FIFA as we look at booking patterns coming into the summer,” Marriott CEO Tony Capuano told CNBC. “We’re seeing really strong demand patterns in both FIFA and non-FIFA cities in the U.S.”

Capuano said Marriott expects the World Cup to lift U.S. revenue per available room by about 40 basis points.

Marriott, the world’s largest hotel chain, said it’s particularly well-positioned because of its brand recognition and rewards ecosystem.

“Because of the breadth of our global footprint, we have deep experience, whether it’s FIFA, whether it’s the Olympics, Super Bowl,” Capuano said. “The booking patterns we’re seeing are tracking pretty closely with our expectations.”

Capuano said some release of FIFA room blocks had been anticipated and that current bookings are “right on track” with…