How the FIFA World Cup Affects Short-Term Rental Markets

For international football fans traveling to North America to attend the FIFA World Cup this summer, the costs of doing so quickly add up. Between flights, accommodation, food, local transportation and tickets, a week-long trip to the tournament can easily set you back a couple of thousand dollars, which is why FIFA and local businesses in the United States have been accused of price gouging in the run-up to the multi-week event.

Fans put off by sky-high hotel prices in host cities may look elsewhere for cheaper accommodation, but the short-term rental market, i.e. Airbnb and similar platforms, is also heating up in anticipation of the World Cup and millions of international visitors. According to AirDNA, an analytics platform for the short-term rental industry, demand for short-term rentals has surged in many host cities, with Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey seeing particularly large spikes in bookings and nightly rates. On group stage matchdays, the number of bookings in the three Mexican host cities rose by an average of 186 percent compared to the previous year, while the average nightly rate increased by 72 percent year-over-year. Host cities in the U.S. and Canada have seen significantly smaller increases in demand and prices, indicating that baseline demand in these cities is higher compared to their Mexican counterparts.

For those still looking for accommodation, however, the report brings mixed news. On the one hand, the average price increase for listings that were still available as of May 28 was roughly twice as high as the increase for bookings that had already been made. On the other hand, with vacancy rates indicating that there are still plenty of options on the market and hoteliers reporting that demand has fallen short of expectations, last-minute bookers may still benefit from falling prices in the days leading up to the World Cup kickoff on June 11.