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Morning Edition

June 10, 2026

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The FIFA men’s World Cup kicks off Thursday, but hotels in the U.S. are still struggling to fill rooms. Bookings in U.S. host cities are lagging behind their Canadian and Mexican counterparts, as cost has been a defining factor for many fans looking to book travel to World Cup games this summer.

— Ava Hult [[link removed]]

First Up Corporate sponsors are increasingly stepping up to cover World Cup ticket giveaways, as thousands of unsold tickets remain. Read the story [[link removed]]. Disney is benefiting from near-nightly championship events on ABC. Game 2 of the NBA Finals notched yet another viewership win for the network. Read the story [[link removed]]. After Yahoo Sports syndicated a false Kevin Durant trade story, a spokesperson told FOS it will keep the article on-site with a corrected headline. Read the story [[link removed]]. After sprinter Abby Steiner sued Puma, alleging their shoes caused career-ending injuries, two more elite athletes have made similar allegations. Read the story [[link removed]]. U.S. Hotels Still Struggling to Fill Rooms As World Cup Approaches [[link removed]]

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday, but it may not be the big bonanza American hotels initially expected.

Hotel bookings in U.S. host cities are lagging behind their Canadian and Mexican counterparts heading into the tournament. According to CoStar data obtained by Front Office Sports, New York City has the highest hotel booking rate on match dates across U.S. cities at 57% on June 13. But outside the U.S., cities are seeing much higher booking rates throughout the tournament, with Monterrey at 60% on June 20, Mexico City at 61% on June 11, and Guadalajara at 73% on June 18.

For many fans looking to book travel to World Cup games this summer, cost has been a defining factor.

Ticket prices have reached record highs for this year’s World Cup, with FIFA’s official listings for the July 19 final [[link removed]] at MetLife Stadium going for $32,970 per seat, more than triple [[link removed]] the average Super Bowl resale price in February. In New York, round-trip train tickets from Manhattan to MetLife Stadium were initially set at $150 before being lowered to $98. The same ticket from Penn Station to MetLife typically costs $12.90.

“There is significant sticker shock and there are many customers and groups who have experienced previous World Cups who have been priced out of this edition of the tournament,” Dave Guenther, president of luxury sports travel company Roadtrips, tells FOS. Guenther says the problem started with ticket costs but was compounded by lodging companies that priced aggressively early.

“Those rates have now gone down in many markets, but this is still an expensive World Cup, and aspirational buyers are finding it hard to pay up,” he said.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association reported [[link removed]] in May that 70% of hoteliers in Dallas and Houston said booking rates were below expectations. Kansas City was the most disappointed market, with nearly 90% reporting a pace below typical June and July levels. FIFA’s cancellation of roughly 70% of room blocks it had reserved in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle had inflated early demand signals that never held.

According to CoStar, which tracks World Cup host city hotel bookings, as of June 1, on some match days hotel occupancy rates in U.S. host cities—including Atlanta and Boston—are lower compared to 2025.

“This is more of a rate event than an occupancy event,” Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics at CoStar, tells FOS. Hotels aren’t expecting dramatic occupancy jumps, but they are charging more for the rooms that do fill, he says.

Visa Issues

Canada and Mexico hold structural advantages, too. International fans from countries with more restrictive U.S. visa policies may simply find it easier to enter either country, Freitag added. Miami is a partial exception, supported by easy access from Latin America, South America, and the Caribbean. Miami will host seven matches during the tournament.

The short-term rental (STR) market, on the other hand, tells a slightly different story.

According to AirDNA data, short-term rental demand—including stays at Airbnb—is up sharply across Mexican host cities as of June 8, with Guadalajara and Monterrey leading the way at 136% and 125%, respectively, higher than the same period last year.

Even in U.S. cities where hotel bookings haven’t met expectations, STR platforms are faring better. The demand for short-term rentals in Kansas City is higher than in any other U.S. city, with a 44% increase from last year, according to AirDNA.

The surge in the Mexican market specifically, according to AirDNA director of economics and forecasting Bram Gallagher, may come down to price and amenities. STR listings in Mexican host cities are running around $100 per night even after significant rate increases, compared to roughly $300 per night in cities like Kansas City, Boston, and Miami. “Those cheap budget places are going first and fastest,” Gallagher tells FOS.

“If you wait to book, you will be facing increasing rates,” he says.

Luxury Accommodations

Some U.S. hotels swung for the high end regardless [[link removed]]. The Mark, a high-end hotel on New York’s Upper East Side, offers exclusive use of two floors and helicopter transfers to the final. Its package—priced at $1 million—is still available, the hotel said Tuesday.

The Mark

In Boston, XV Beacon is still offering a package that features private round-trip transportation to Gillette Stadium and a champagne welcome reception. The Gansevoort Meatpacking, a boutique hotel in downtown Manhattan, is asking $30,000 for a package around the England vs. Panama match. It’s drawn interest from several U.K.-based guests, a spokesperson tells FOS, though it hasn’t been booked as of earlier this week.

Once knockout-round matchups are set and fans know where their team is playing, Freitag expects a surge in bookings across U.S. cities. “People from France or Spain or Portugal or Germany or England will end up making their trips across,” he says.

SPONSORED BY MORGAN & MORGAN

How a $2M Deal Could Cost Tatis $34M

At 18, Fernando Tatis Jr. signed away 10% of his future earnings for $2 million upfront, before landing a $340 million contract with the Padres. He fought back in court, lost on a technicality, and is now appealing a decision that could determine whether he owes $34 million over the life of his deal.

In The Case Study [[link removed]] presented by Morgan & Morgan, attorney Dan Morgan breaks down what went wrong, who else is at risk, and what the appeal could mean for the next generation of players.

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LOUD AND CLEAR No LIV Guarantees

The Indianapolis Star

“What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business.”

—LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil’s response when asked whether he can guarantee that the four remaining tournaments of the league’s 2026 season will actually take place.

O’Neil appeared on CNBC’s Halftime Report on Tuesday, two days after Front Office Sports reported there is a growing sentiment among those in and around LIV that the funding from Saudi PIF could dry up even earlier [[link removed]] than expected. “I can say they’ve been terrific partners so far, and you have to take an incredible organization like PIF at their word—and they’ve been very public about funding us through the season,” O’Neil said Tuesday.

The PIF in April said it would fund LIV through the end of this season, which concludes in August. There is a 47-day break between LIV’s latest event in Spain, which concluded Sunday, and its next tournament in the U.K. that begins July 23. Read the story [[link removed]].

Daily sports trivia: Can you rank the top five Spurs by the most points scored while on the team?

[[link removed]] FOS NEWS The College Sports Crisis in Congress

FOS graphic

Sen. Chris Coons is one of the original cosponsors of the Protect College Sports Act, which the Senate held its first hearing on earlier this month. Labor advocates and athlete groups have pushed back on the bill, arguing transfer-portal eligibility rules and compensation caps are the kind of protections that should be won at the bargaining table, not handed down by Congress.

Coons sat down with Front Office Sports to explain why Congress stepped in at all, what is actually in the 111-page bill, and what he personally insisted had to be protected for college athletes before he would put his name on it.

Watch the full interview [[link removed]].

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FOS on NBA Finals Shaquille O’Neal Shines During ‘Inside the NBA’ Finals Debut [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The Diesel praised the Spurs’ physical play in Game 3. Trump, Stephen A. Smith Escalate NBA Finals–Fueled Feud [[link removed]]by Ben Axelrod [[link removed]]Trump questioned if Smith has the IQ required to run for president. Ticket Prices for Game 4 at MSG Drop Following Knicks Loss [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Ticket demand falls sharply for Wednesday’s Game 4. Question of the Day

Do you plan to travel for any World Cup matches?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s result: Only 6% of respondents think Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby should be eligible to play despite his gambling activity.

Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Games [[link removed]] Shop [[link removed]] Written by Ava Hult [[link removed]] Edited by Katie Krzaczek [[link removed]], Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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