Modest World Cup lift still poised to play key role for U.S. hotel industry
 Modest World Cup lift still poised to play key role for U.S. hotel industry
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ARLINGTON, Va. – The recently revised U.S. hotel forecast from CoStar and Tourism Economics projects a 1.7% increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during the World Cup months of June and July. While the anticipated lift is modest, it would represent a meaningful contribution to overall industry growth in 2026.
Overall for 2026, the industry is forecasted for a 0.6% RevPAR increase after a decline of 0.3% in 2025. Without that World Cup-driven gain, RevPAR growth would be 40 basis points lower at 0.2%.
During the last U.S. World Cup in 1994, RevPAR for June and July rose 6.9%, largely on a 5.0% increase in average daily rate. The top-line growth around this year’s World Cup will be almost entirely on a 1.6% lift in ADR.
Our forecast is tempered due to the uncertainty surrounding international inbound travel, which fell in 2025 due to policy and perception changes. Still, a 1.7 increase would be noticeably better than the months before (-0.4%) and after (+1.0%) the World Cup. Isaac Collazo, STR’s senior director, analytics
Ten of the 11 U.S. host cities for the World Cup are included in STR’s Top 25 Markets, underscoring the event’s concentration in the country’s largest hotel markets. On average, those host markets are expected to see a RevPAR gain of 3.8% for the year and 12.7% in June/July. For comparison, in 1994, host cities collectively saw June/July RevPAR rise 11.9%. Without the World Cup, 2026 host markets would be forecast for just 2.0% growth in RevPAR.
While there is upside for the host markets, the impact to the total U.S. average is negligible due to the underlying weakness expected elsewhere,
Collazo said.
Forward-booking data shows an uptick in occupancy on the books beginning on the day of the first U.S. match (12 June 2026) and remaining elevated through 4 July. After the holiday, occupancy levels revert to the softer pace observed in the days leading up to the tournament’s start.
In addition to updates around forward booking levels, the CoStar and Tourism Economics forecast will continue to be refined in the months ahead.
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About CoStar Group, Inc.
CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets. Founded in 1987, CoStar Group conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain the largest and most comprehensive database of real estate information. CoStar is the global leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, enabling clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on property values, market conditions and availabilities. Apartments.com is the leading online marketplace for renters seeking great apartment homes, providing property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. LoopNet is the most heavily trafficked online commercial real estate marketplace with thirteen million average monthly global unique visitors. STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Ten-X offers a leading platform for conducting commercial real estate online auctions and negotiated bids. Homes.com is the fastest growing online residential marketplace that connects agents, buyers, and sellers. OnTheMarket is a leading residential property portal in the United Kingdom. BureauxLocaux is one of the largest specialized property portals for buying and leasing commercial real estate in France. Business Immo is France's leading commercial real estate news service. Thomas Daily is Germany's largest online data pool in the real estate industry. Belbex is the premier source of commercial space available to let and for sale in Spain. CoStar Group's websites attracted over 163 million average monthly unique visitors in the third quarter of 2024. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar Group maintains offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Asia. From time to time, we plan to utilize our corporate website, CoStarGroup.com, as a channel of distribution for material company information. For more information, visit CoStarGroup.com.
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" including, without limitation, statements regarding CoStar's expectations or beliefs regarding the future. These statements are based upon current beliefs and are subject to many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. The following factors, among others, could cause or contribute to such differences: the risk that future media events will not sustain an increase in future occupancy rates. More information about potential factors that could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those stated in CoStar's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in CoStar's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and Forms 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023, each of which is filed with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" section of those filings, as well as CoStar's other filings with the SEC available at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements are based on information available to CoStar on the date hereof, and CoStar assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Haley Luther
Senior Communications Manager
Phone: +1 (216) 278 0627
Email: hluther@costar.com
CoStar Group
https://www.costar.com/products/benchmark
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