Early booking data for the 2026 FIFA World Cup shows demand for STRs rising quickly across U.S. host cities, but traveler behavior looks materially different from a typical peak season. Instead of booking extended vacations, many guests are planning short, match-driven stays tied to individual games or a few key dates.
New analysis from Key Data shows this shift is already reshaping booking patterns. While bookings per property are surging across several host markets, average length of stay is getting much shorter, which looks more like hotel demand than traditional vacation rentals.
Boston, Kansas City, and Philadelphia are seeing the biggest early jumps. In Boston, bookings per property during the World Cup are up 869% year over year. Kansas City has recorded a 606% increase, while Philadelphia bookings are up 275%. These gains point to strong early demand, even though the tournament is still months away.
At the same time, the average length of stays are compressing across most host cities. In Boston, average stays have dropped 44% year over year, from nearly seven nights to fewer than four. Dallas has seen a 40% decline, Houston is down 29%, and Philadelphia 27%. Even leisure markets like Miami and Los Angeles are seeing shorter stays, down 11% and 24% respectively.
Because the data shows World Cup travel is focused tightly around match dates, with guests booking short, targeted stays instead of full-week trips. This creates a strategy mismatch for many STR portfolios that remain optimized for longer vacations through minimum length-of-stay rules, weekend restrictions, and weeklong pricing assumptions.
Early indicators suggest operators in World Cup host markets may need to reassess length-of-stay rules and pricing structures to avoid filtering out a significant share of the event-driven demand.
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