FIFA cancels thousands of hotel bookings ahead of the 2026 World Cup
The organisers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup have begun cancelling a large number of hotel reservations in host cities across North America. According to available information, this concerns thousands of rooms in cities such as TToronto, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Mexico City.
In Vancouver, according to the British Columbia Hotel Association, between 70 and 80 percent of previously booked capacity has been cancelled, representing approximately 15,000 room nights between 11 June and 19 July 2026. The released rooms are now returning to the market and becoming available to individual guests and other sales channels.
A similar situation is being reported in Toronto, where hotels are recording a significant number of vacant rooms. Although specific figures have not yet been confirmed, hoteliers state that these are large blocks of reservations that were previously held for event organisation purposes.
This practice is not uncommon during major international events. Organisers often block a large number of rooms early on to secure capacity for teams, sponsors, media and logistics. As the event approaches and needs become clearer, surplus bookings are returned to the market.
However, experts point out that in this case, the volume of cancelled bookings is higher than typically expected. Similar trends have been recorded in other host cities, including Philadelphia, where around 2,000 out of an initially reserved 10,000 rooms have been cancelled, as well as in Mexico City.
