11. The Upgrade | Weekly - I Can't Stop Watching the World Cup Videos on Instagram

The World Cup has brought travelers to American staples like Buc-ee's, Cheesecake Factory, and Bass Pro Shops, but has it brought the hospitality numbers we were hoping for?

🗝️ The Upgrade | Weekly by Anne Marie Brown.

Issue 11 · World Cup Fever In America

In The Upgrade this week:

1. Pre-Departure – The World Cup Showcases America, Have Our Hotels Benefited?

2. The Room Report – Covent Garden Hotel, London

3. The Lobby Bar – Stop Guzzling Ranch, Marriott Bets on Wellness, Hotel Investment is Heating Up

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Travelers,

I’ve spent the last week in England, staying at Estelle Manor and the Firmdale Covent Garden Hotel in London with my Bougie Bunnies. (To follow along on my IG stories, go to @AnneMarieBrown7 on Instagram). Between juggling bedtimes, museums, a near-constant search for fries for my five-year-old, and meetings with hotels and other advisors (and Substack friends!), I’ve also spent a shocking amount of time consuming World Cup content on Instagram. I can’t seem to get enough of the Europeans and others experiencing small-town culture in America. From Japanese tourists chowing down on Texas BBQ, to Scottish fans waking up the Boston suburbs with bagpipes, and Rock Chalk Algeria, my feed has become a happier place than it’s been in months. Experiencing all this from abroad while the world, in pubs down the street, focuses on my home country feels rather surreal.

In The Upgrade this week, I am taking a detour from my planned articles and jumping on the World Cup bandwagon to discuss how the numbers have played out in the hospitality world.

Happy travels! Anne Marie

Yours truly at the Neal’s Yard area next to the Covent Garden Hotel, where I’ve watched the World Cup from abroad. Monty Python, (one of my heroes), lived here.

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🗝️ Pre-Departure — Hospitality Hot Takes

I Can’t Get Enough of the World Cup Social Media

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I co-own a company with enormous depth of special event experience. We have run groups to the Masters, Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon, Final Four, Super Bowl, and US Open for years. So I was surprised to find we had very few clients who would be traveling for the World Cup.

Did our client experience indicate a larger dearth of demand?

The 2026 tournament expanded to 48 teams and 104 matches across 16 host cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and FIFA reported more than 5 million tickets sold. Early booking data as of December 2025 looked promising. For stays around the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium (just across the Hudson River from New York), booking volumes climbed 102% year over year, with ADR (Average Daily Rates) up more than 72% for that period. For the US opening match at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, volumes were up 80.5% and ADR increased more than 21% year over year.

Hotels built their entire summer strategies around those holds: pricing up, pausing other bookings, turning away regular summer business to protect capacity, and in some cases investing in World Cup-specific renovations and activations.¹

The trouble is that a lot of early “demand” was artificial.

FIFA had made mass room bookings at hotels in host cities, and then cancelled those holds to the tune of roughly 70% of the room blocks they had reserved in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle.² ³

The AHLA (America Hotel Lodging Association) surveyed more than 200 hoteliers across 11 US host markets in May and found that nearly 80% reported bookings tracking below initial forecasts.⁵ In Kansas City, bookings lagged below normal June and July levels entirely. In Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle, many hoteliers described the tournament as a “non-event.”⁵ About 65-70% of respondents cited visa barriers and geopolitical concerns as the top constraint on international demand.⁵

Sticker shock has also been deterrent. Ticket prices reached record highs, with FIFA’s official listings for the final at MetLife Stadium at $32,970 per seat, more than triple the average Super Bowl resale price from February.

Occupancy Levels and ADR Lift

So, if demand had such a rocky start, how about rates? Was a rate lift seen across the cities hosting matches and teams?

CoStar’s Jan Freitag put it plainly. This is “more of a rate event than an occupancy event.”⁶ Hotels are charging significantly more for the rooms that do fill.

CoStar projects New York RevPAR to grow roughly 16% year over year during June and July, driven almost entirely by a 14% ADR increase rather than higher occupancy.⁷ Across US host cities broadly, rooms on match days are running about 31% higher than on non-match nights.⁸ For context, when the US last hosted the World Cup (in 1994), RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) rose 6.9% in June and July on a 5% ADR increase. The 2026 number currently sits closer to a 1.7% national RevPAR lift.⁹

What about last minute demand?

The AHLA reported that nearly 80% of hotel bookings across host cities were running below initial forecasts. In Kansas City, bookings lagged below normal rates for June and July.

At the start of 2026, hotels hiked prices and set minimum-stay requirements. By March, properties were facing what one analyst called a “reality check associated with the lack of demand,” and group-stage rates started coming back down.

I think what I’m seeing on my Instagram feed reflects a larger surge in goodwill this World Cup is generating overseas. I’m seeing stories of people who thought they might be met by ICE agents and instead encountered grassroots American warmth and hospitality.

Hopefully, these heartwarming videos will encourage people to make plans to visit and attend the final matches — an optimistic result that might not yet be evident.

Amex GBT Consulting noted that historically, 70% of accommodations for previous World Cups were booked in the 30 days leading up to matches.¹⁰ Knockout-round bookings are expected to move once fans know which teams are advancing, with markets like New York and Los Angeles better positioned to capture that surge than secondary venues.⁷

Many travelers are making decisions much closer to match day, watching ticket prices and booking only once they know which match they want to attend. The expectation is that as the tournament progresses, social media will amplify demand curves, with fans attending matches creating real-time FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) that drives additional last-minute travel.

The broader national picture is more modest. CoStar and Tourism Economics projected US hotel RevPAR to increase 1.7% year over year during June and July overall, with host markets seeing 12.7% RevPAR growth for those months and 3.8% for the full year. For context, when the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, RevPAR rose 6.9% in June and July, largely on a 5% ADR increase.⁹

Of course, hotels don’t reflect the whole picture. Short-term rental (STR) platforms are faring better than hotels in some markets. Kansas City saw a 44% increase in STR demand from last year, and Mexican host cities are seeing sharply higher short-term rental activity, with Guadalajara up 136% and Monterrey up 125% versus the same period last year. The price differential explains a lot: STR listings in Mexican host cities are running around $100 per night, compared to roughly $300 per night in places like Kansas City, Boston, and Miami.

Honestly, I feel the social media coverage of travelers being warmly welcomed – meeting people from all different walks of life across the US in cities and small towns – has done more for the US tourism industry than any campaign could hope to achieve.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free” is now “give me your body-painted, scarf-wearing, beer-guzzling soccer fans yearning to experience Buccees, Cheesecake Factory, and brisket.” I’ll take it.

In the meantime, we are watching the games where and when we can, between entertaining our little bunnies and packing/unpacking as we move along on our giant Euro Trip.

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🗝️ Room Report — Covent Garden Hotel By Firmdale, London

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In the first week of our Bougie Bunny Euro Tour with our kids, ages 5 and 7, we experienced both Estelle Manor in the countryside and the Covent Garden Hotel in London. The space to spread out at Estelle Manor and the grounds to let our kids run wild were amazing after a long flight. I’m glad we spent the first few nights there, despite some activity coordination issues. Overall, they are demanding to return to Estelle in the future.

For anyone who has followed me for a while, you may know that I am a die-hard Lanesborough fan. If I’m traveling through London or booking clients in the city, that’s typically where I put them – not only for the traditional Bridgerton vibes, but because of how well they treat kids, they have a hotel cat named Lilibet, an indoor pool, an ideal location next to the park, and truly impeccable service.

With Royal Ascot overlapping our stay, the rates at the Lanesborough were enough to make me look elsewhere for once, and we settled on Covent Garden. I’ve never stayed in that part of the city before, but it reminds me a lot of a mixture of SoHo and the theater district in NYC.

The little streets of the Seven Dials area specifically, where the Firmdale Covent Garden is located, are dotted with perfumeries and boutiques, small cafes and classic pubs. Yes, it is full of people, but it didn’t feel overwhelmingly crowded by any means.

I loved how close we were to the British Museum, Transport Museum, and theaters.

Fast Facts:

• 58 rooms

• Located on Monmouth Street in Seven Dials/West End

• Room we stayed in: a Four Poster Room connecting with a Luxury Room, total of £1,782 per night for the two rooms.

Firmdale and the Hotel Itself:

Firmdale has 11 hotels across London and New York, all designed by Kit Kemp. Tim and Kit Kemp co-founded Firmdale in 1985. The collection has grown to 11 hotels across London and New York. Kit Kemp, the creative director, holds an MBE and designs every property herself, filling each hotel with whimsical design, rich patterned textiles, and a mix of modern and traditional art of and furniture. It feels like a manor house designed for fairies.

History:

The building dates to the 1890s and originally operated as a French hospital from 1867 to 1948, with the words “Nouvel Hôpital et Dispensaire Français” still visible in the brickwork. The hospital structure, formerly called the Shaftesbury Hospital, was designed by Thomas Verity, an architect better known for designing theatres, in 1899. So the building itself has a theatre architect’s DNA, which is a nice detail given where it sits. After the hospital closed in 1948, the building sat in various uses before Firmdale converted it. The Covent Garden Hotel opened in April 1996

What we loved:

The rooms were huge by London standards. They have very high ceilings and plenty of space to spread out. The lock off configuration for our room connecting to our kids’ room was awesome, and allowed us to breathe while they could leave their toys strewn about with impunity. Let’s be honest, they still played musical beds and came to sleep with us most nights, but the illusion of separate spaces was great.

The Staff:

This is where they really shine. We were greeted by name each time we walked in the door. They really made an effort to make our kids feel special.

When I mentioned on a room tour with the GM that I wish hotels would provide snack baskets for kids so they don’t raid the minibar, a basket magically appeared in our room that evening.

That is service – it’s just the kind of touch that luxury hotels should strive for.

We greatly enjoyed afternoon tea in the drawing room that we ordered through room service, cocktails at Brasserie Max (try the Caper Martini, it was fantastic), and breakfast.

Kids:

They have kid-sized robes and mini slippers in the rooms as well as coloring books and colored pencils. Our kids were thrilled. It’s really lovely to go to a hotel where kids and made to feel like they are welcomed and not to be kept separate.

Downsides:

The only minor complaint I have is that the transfer the hotel arranged didn’t leave quite enough time to make it to Gatwick, and we almost missed our flight to Bolzano, which would have been a huge bummer.

The showers also inexplicably lack a glass panel and the water gets everywhere on the floor, so allocate floor towels accordingly.

Otherwise, I’d absolutely recommend this hotel for families staying in London.

The Firmdale Covent Garden Hotel

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🗝️ The Lobby Bar — Hospitality updates, promotions, and the occasional pun

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The TSA had to remind World Cup visitors not to chug ranch at security. International fans descending on U.S. cities for the World Cup have discovered ranch dressing and, apparently, cannot get enough of it. On the first day of the tournament, the TSA posted on Threads: “If you’re visiting for a very large sporting event & you happen to discover RANCH while you’re here… pls pack it in your CHECKED BAG on the way home.” It only escalated from there. A follow-up post read: “your carry-on wasn’t actually made for 4 bottles of ranch & a taser.” Ranch is a liquid, standard 3.4-oz carry-on rules apply. Pack accordingly. Yahoo!KTLA 5 News

Marriott just bought its way into luxury wellness. On June 10, Marriott finalized a joint venture with the Leali family to bring Lefay, an Italian luxury wellness brand, into its portfolio. Lefay currently operates two properties in Italy and will be bookable through Marriott’s platforms, with Bonvoy integration expected by late 2026. This is Marriott’s first brand dedicated exclusively to wellness, sitting alongside Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis in the Luxury Group. I’m currently at Sonnwies in the Dolomites and it’s parental wellness to the max. If a Dolomites wellness trip is on your list in the next year or two, now is a good time to start paying attention.

Luxury hotel investment is heating up. A JLL report out this week put numbers behind what we’re seeing on the ground: ultra-luxury properties with ADRs above $1,000 have seen RevPAR reach $872 through April 2026, hitting 148% of pre-pandemic levels. Hotel investment activity surged 115% year over year in Q1 2026, with the Four Seasons Orlando and Four Seasons Jackson Hole selling together for a combined $1.1 billion. High-end hotel real estate hasn’t looked like this in years.

The Lotte New York Palace has new management. Lotte spent over $1.3 billion assembling control of its 909-room Manhattan flagship and this week handed operations to Highgate. Lotte stays on as owner.

Sources

4. Hotel Dive — “Hotel bookings, ADR up across 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities” (Dec. 2025): https://www.hoteldive.com/news/fifa-world-cup-2026-booking-volume-adr-increase/808374/

5. Hotel Dive — “World Cup to bring ‘modest’ RevPAR growth to US: report” (Feb. 2026): https://www.hoteldive.com/news/fifa-world-cup-modest-revpar-growth-us-report/812826/

6. CoStar — “Hoteliers’ optimism weakens as US World Cup demand softer than expected” (Mar. 2026): https://www.costar.com/article/1608606242/hoteliers-optimism-weakens-as-us-world-cup-demand-softer-than-expected

7. NPR — “Hotels have a big World Cup problem: Bookings are running far below projections” (May 2026): https://www.npr.org/2026/05/04/nx-s1-5810626/world-cup-hotels-tourism-bookings-visitors

8. Al Jazeera — “Low US hotel bookings paint grim hospitality picture at the World Cup” (May 2026): https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/5/6/low-us-hotel-bookings-paint-grim-hospitality-picture-at-the-world-cup

9. Hotel Dive — “’We’re holding our breath’: What hotels are expecting from the FIFA World Cup” (May 2026): https://www.hoteldive.com/news/what-hotels-are-expecting-from-fifa-world-cup-booking-data/821334/

10. Skift — “Hotels Are Hoping For a Last-Minute World Cup Surge. Will It Come?” (Jun. 2026): https://skift.com/2026/06/11/hotels-hope-last-minute-world-cup-bookings/

11. Front Office Sports — “World Cup Fans Face ‘Significant Sticker Shock’ for Hotels” (Jun. 2026): https://frontofficesports.com/u-s-hotels-still-struggling-to-fill-rooms-as-world-cup-approaches/

12. Lodging Magazine — “Game-Time Decisions Are Reshaping World Cup Hotel Demand” (Jun. 2026): https://lodgingmagazine.com/game-time-decisions-are-reshaping-world-cup-hotel-demand/