Hospitality leaders report a “mixed picture” on hotel bookings with the World Cup underway, with some saying that the “promised windfall has become a more disappointing reality,” according to Ober & Chung of the N.Y. TIMES. In some host cities, including N.Y., Toronto and Miami, the number of hotel bookings on match days is “lower than the numbers from a year ago,” per real estate analytics company CoStar. International travel numbers also “look disappointing” as FIFA had estimated that 40% of World Cup visitors would be international travelers. But flight bookings “made before June from the European Union to most host cities during the tournament months of June and July” have dropped compared with last year, according to the aviation data firm Cirium. Data from Visit Kansas City reveals that K.C. has “seen the kind of tourism bump that most host cities expected,” with hotels reporting 32% growth in bookings compared with this time last year across all six match periods. The organization said that short-term rentals have also “doubled their revenue projections.” Tourism Economics Dir/Industry Studies Aran Ryan said that international visitation this year overall has been “weaker than expected.” However, hospitality leaders are “still hoping for a last-minute surge.” American Hotel & Lodging Association CEO Rosanna Maietta said that hotels are “optimistic that travelers are still finalizing plans for later-stage matches” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/19).
STAYING PUT: NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said that there were “no plans to change the train ticket price again” for World Cup games at N.Y. N.J. Stadium. Even if lower ticket sales meant the revenue did not cover the full cost of the operation, he said that he “would not seek additional funding from the State Legislature.” Kolluri said, “It’s now up to me, without service cuts or passing it on to commuters, how I’m going to make up the delta.” In N.Y., Stefanos Chen noted after public backlash about the price of the round-trip train ticket from N.Y.’s Penn Station -- $98, which is still seven times the typical fare -- “sales have been weaker than expected.” For the first game at the stadium, last Saturday, “fewer than 22,000 train tickets were sold,” according to the transit agency. But the agency’s justification for the high ticket price was that it needed to cover $48M in “expenses related to the tournament” -- a sum it is “now unlikely to raise at its current rate of sales.” Fewer train passengers could also “mean more congestion on the highways for attendees using different modes of transportation, including buses, ride-share services and private vehicles” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/19).
CALIFORNIA LOVE: In L.A., Jack Flemming in a front-page piece wrote Inglewood is already diverse, but during the World Cup, it is “looking more like the United Nations.” English, Japanese, Swiss, Iranians, Paraguayans, Bosnians, Belgians and others are “flocking to the city” of about 102,000, where eight matches are being played at L.A. Stadium. Visitors are “soaking up the vibes of a city that has long been a major sports and entertainment hub.” Inglewood Mayor James Butts said, “We’re an international city now.” Butts said that locals were “already proud of what the city has become, but the World Cup has put the celebratory feelings over the top.” He added that city officials are “doing everything they can to embrace the spirit of the tournament,” including “speeding up permits so small businesses and neighborhoods can hold World Cup gatherings and watch parties” (L.A. TIMES, 6/19).
