Soccer fans eager to catch the FIFA World Cup opening matches next year will be hit with sky-high costs, as hotels in the 16 host cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico hike rates by more than 300% — with one city topping $3,000 a night, a new report found.
Room rates at 96 Marriott and Hilton hotels skyrocketed after FIFA unveiled the 104-match schedule Saturday, with the average per-night rate around an opening game hitting a whopping $1,013 – up from $293 just 21 days earlier, according to an analysis by The Athletic.
The most eye-popping increase came in Mexico City for the June 11 opener between Mexico and South Africa. Rooms at the Marriott resort Le Meridien Mexico City Reforma, located near Azteca Stadium, surged 2,372%, reaching a staggering $3,882 per night, the report showed.
Just weeks prior, in May, the same hotel’s nightly rate will be about $157.
Six Mexico City hotels are averaging $1,572 per night for the opening match – up a jaw-dropping 961% from rates listed three weeks earlier, according to the analysis.
Among 78 games across US cities, hotel rates surged most in Houston (457%), followed by Kansas City (364%), Atlanta (344%), and the San Francisco Bay Area (342%) compared to respective rates in late May.
The average nightly rate across six hotels in New York City and New Jersey climbed 228% for a two-night stay around Brazil’s June 13 match against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, according to the report.
At the Fairfield Inn East Rutherford Meadowlands, just 1.5 miles from the stadium, costs between June 12 and 14 soared to $1,552 – up sharply from $289 three weeks earlier, the data showed.
The same Garden State Marriott hotel will jump to a whopping $3,066 per night around the July 19 World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, with nearby Hampton Inn Carlstadt charging $3,518 and the Moxy Times Square in Midtown climbing over $1,000 per night.
In Canada, Toronto saw the smallest spike among World Cup host cities, with average hotel rates for the June 12 opening match – featuring the victor of a European playoff between Italy, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina – rising 78%, according to the analysis.
The average tab of a two-night stay hit $487, slightly up from $267 three weeks prior.
In Vancouver, a Hampton Inn & Suites is charging $1,759 for the June 13 matchup between Australia and the winner of the European playoff between Romania, Turkey, Slovakia, and Kosovo, the report said.
Marriott and Hilton did not respond to the outlet’s questions about how they determine their rates.
The World Cup — the most-watched sporting event in the world — will be hosted in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Toronto, and Vancouver.
