Ranked: Demand for Short-Term Rental In 2026 World Cup Host Cities

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday, June 11.

With that in mind, the US accommodation market has not moved the way the industry projected.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association, surveying more than 200 hotels across the 11 US host cities, found 80% of respondents reporting that World Cup occupancy is tracking below their initial forecasts.

In that vein, this visualization shows short-term rental (STR) fill rates for tournament match dates across key cities. The match dates span from June 11 to July 19.

Short-term rental fill rates simply mean the percentage of time your property has guests staying.

It was obtained directly from AirROI pacing data captured on May 13, 2026.

Los Angeles, which hosts the World Cup final, has the lowest uplift ratio of any city in the dataset at approximately 1.4x above baseline.
80% of surveyed hotels across the 11 US World Cup host cities are tracking below initial occupancy forecasts
AirROI pacing data shows short-term rental fill rates ranging from approximately 26% in Atlanta to approximately 62% in Kansas City at the match-week peak

Kansas City’s approximately 62% peak is the dataset’s standout figure

Its baseline of approximately 31% is higher than the match-week peak of every other measured city except Dallas.

Part of this reflects market structure rather than raw demand intensity.

Kansas City has a significantly smaller short-term rental inventory than Los Angeles, Miami, or Dallas.

The same absolute number of bookings fills a higher percentage of a smaller total inventory.

Kansas City’s high fill rate is partly a small-market effect, but it is also the only US host city where the World Cup is producing something approaching a genuinely tight STR market.