The 2026 FIFA World Cup failed to deliver the anticipated boost to Los Angeles hotels, with nearly three-quarters of surveyed hotels reporting a negative financial impact and many maintaining staffing levels or making cuts, according to an industry-commissioned report released today.
According to the report by the Hospitality Education and Research Organization, a project of the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, 72% of surveyed hotels reported that the World Cup hurt their financial outlook for 2026, including 48% that described the impact as “extremely negative.”
Nearly three-quarters of hotels reported holding flat or cutting staff. The labor union, UNITE HERE Local 11, representing 28,000 hotel workers in Southern California reported nearly 20% of its members in Los Angeles had seen their hours cut over the past year because of declines in tourism, according to the hotelier organization.
“Projections for World Cup visitors were based on optimistic assumptions that international spectators would be eager to travel and stay in cities like Los Angeles. When those projections fell flat, hotels and their staff ultimately paid the price,” HALA President and CEO Jackie Fillia said in a statement.
With demand falling short and FIFA cancelling thousands of downtown Los Angeles room nights shortly before the matches began, hotels experienced unreliable revenue forecasts, staffing became harder to manage, and operational investments became riskier, according to the report.
In addition, incentives for short-term rental listings drove potential guests away from hotel stays. While hotel performance across the city of Los Angeles was largely weaker than the more typical summer 2024 benchmark, short-term rentals reported a 23% increase in demand and a 21% increase in revenue over the same period, the report found.
“Looking ahead to the 2028 Olympics, Los Angeles can learn from these results and act to protect hotels and their staff by supporting incentives to earn non-Olympic groups and conventions even while the sporting events take place, working hard to attract international visitors, and avoiding an unchecked expansion of short-term rentals,” Fillia added.
Other key findings of the report showed the following:
— Hotel demand fell short of expectations during the June World Cup matches, and hotel occupancy in the downtown L.A. Central Business District was 6% lower compared to June 2024;
— Rates rose, but occupancy of rooms was significantly lower than anticipated, which limited total hotel revenue and the city’s share via the transient occupancy collections;
— World Cup activity was more largely driven by locals rather than international visitors; and
— Travelers displaced higher-value hotel demand, meaning business travelers and corporate events relocated to non-host cities and secondary markets, resulting in LA hotels losing out on those customers.
The HERO Post-World Cup Hotel Survey was sent to 210 hoteliers within the city of Los Angeles between July 23 and Aug. 7. About 58 hotels responded to a least one question with 47 completing the entire survey, representing a response rate of approximately 22%. Percentages were based on the hotels that answered each question, according to the 17-page report.
The independent analysis was conducted by ROVE, a travel and tourism data analytics company.