ARLINGTON, Virginia—The lately revised U.S. hotel forecast from CoStar and Tourism Economics projected a 1.7 % improve in income per out there room (RevPAR) through the World Cup months of June and July. Whereas the anticipated raise was modest, it could signify a significant contribution to total business progress in 2026.
General, for 2026, the business is forecast to extend RevPAR by 0.6 %, after a 0.3 % decline in 2025. With out that World Cup-driven acquire, RevPAR progress can be 40 foundation factors decrease at 0.2 %.
Over the past U.S. World Cup in 1994, RevPAR for June and July rose 6.9 %, largely on a 5.0 % improve in common each day fee. The highest-line progress round this yr’s World Cup might be virtually totally on a 1.6 % raise in ADR.
“Our forecast is tempered as a result of uncertainty surrounding worldwide inbound journey, which fell in 2025 attributable to coverage and notion adjustments,” mentioned Isaac Collazo, STR’s senior director, analytics. “Nonetheless, a 1.7 improve can be noticeably higher than the months earlier than (down 0.4 %) and after (up 1.0 %) the World Cup.”
Key Cities Impacted by World Cup
Ten of the 11 U.S. host cities for the World Cup are included in STR’s High 25 Markets, underscoring the occasion’s focus within the nation’s largest lodge markets. On common, these host markets are anticipated to see a RevPAR acquire of three.8 % for the yr and 12.7 % in June/July. For comparability, in 1994, host cities collectively noticed June/July RevPAR rise 11.9 %. With out the World Cup, 2026 host markets can be forecast for simply 2.0 % progress in RevPAR.
“Whereas there may be upside for the host markets, the influence to the whole U.S. common is negligible as a result of underlying weak point anticipated elsewhere,” Collazo mentioned.
Ahead-booking knowledge reveals an uptick in occupancy on the books starting on the day of the primary U.S. match (June 12, 2026) and remaining elevated by means of July 4. After the vacation, occupancy ranges revert to the softer tempo noticed within the days main as much as the event’s begin.
