Days before the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins, a nondescript, garbage-littered parking lot in East Rutherford shows little evidence it will soon be among the most expensive pieces of asphalt in the tri-state area. The World of Blue hotel, newly transformed and marketed as a luxury option for tournament visitors, plans to charge fans $450 to park on the night of the final, which will be played across the highway at MetLife Stadium.
The stadium - which will host eight matches over the next five weeks - sits amid a spread of warehouses and marshland between New York City and Philadelphia typically treated as a pass-through location or as a budget alternative to staying in Manhattan. Yet proximity to the venue has led local hoteliers to position their properties for a windfall of World Cup bookings and to set rates accordingly.
On World of Blue’s website, a room for the July 19 final is listed at about $2,300, roughly seven times the price charged a month later. The listing also advertises a discounted parking spot for $383. But hotel staff say the hoped-for influx of visitors has not materialized.
Front desk agent Alexandra Sanchez told Reuters that occupancy at World of Blue during group stage games ranged from 8% to 30%. As of Monday, she said, only 4% of rooms were booked for the final and a single parking spot had been reserved. The hotel reportedly spent some $100 million to remake itself into a luxury destination ahead of the tournament.
Those figures are part of a broader pattern suggesting the anticipated surge of international and domestic soccer supporters to U.S. host cities has been slower to arrive than expected. Industry analysts and travel agents attribute the weak pace of bookings to several factors mentioned by hotel staff and market observers: ticket prices for matches, rising airfare costs and shortages of affordable lodging in areas that traditionally serve budget travelers.
Economy properties and roadside motels that usually provide cheaper options are also pushing rates to levels many would consider steep. A room at a two-star Super 8 on a four-lane road is being offered for around $500 on the night of the final, while rooms at Extended Stay America, an economy apartment hotel chain, were listed at more than $900 for that date. A Reuters review of hotel websites showed that lower-tier properties had begun lowering rates for group stage matches, whereas higher-end hotels continued to maintain elevated pricing.
None of the hotels discussed in this article provided comment in response to requests about their pricing or customer demand.
Local reactions and traveler choices
For some regular guests, the spike in rates is prompting changes to plans. Chris Andraka, 36, director of operations at a manufacturing company, said he altered his schedule after noticing the nightly rate at his usual Marriott SpringHill Suites climbed from roughly $300 to $5,300 in the third week of July. "I’m not gonna work that week," Andraka said as he left the hotel parking lot.
When asked if he would recommend the hotel to World Cup attendees, Andraka said: "There’s a pool, there’s a small gym room, free breakfast - nothing to write home about."
Even when guests pay for a parking spot close to the stadium, they will likely need a shuttle or a rideshare to reach the match. Walking to the venue is discouraged by venue and local regulations. At Extended Stay’s reception desk, a sign bearing a New Jersey police logo read: "It is illegal and dangerous to walk on the roadways surrounding the stadium." The words "Illegal" and "dangerous" were bolded and underlined on the sign, a hotel employee said.
Many fans may choose to stay in New York City, drawn by the city’s nightlife and dining options during the tournament. Yet data indicate that booking levels in Manhattan are also lagging relative to last year. CoStar analytics firm data show that as of June 1, 28% of hotel rooms in New York City were reserved for the night of the final on July 19, compared with 40% for that same date a year earlier.
Jan Freitag, director of U.S. hospitality at CoStar, said there is still opportunity for bookings to pick up. "For some of the markets, the hotel demand will come once the later games in the World Cup will get seeded, and stronger teams survive, and those teams then will attract their crowds," Freitag said.
Implications for markets and travel
The current pattern of high prices paired with softer-than-expected occupancy touches multiple parts of the travel ecosystem. Hotels that invested heavily in renovations in anticipation of full houses may face underutilization during key match dates. Air travel demand and ticket pricing were cited by industry sources as contributing pressures on prospective visitors, and the limited availability of lower-cost rooms in host-city regions appears to be squeezing options for price-sensitive fans.
At present, the combination of steep match tickets, rising airfare, and inflated room rates appears to have tempered the rush some had expected to U.S. host cities. Whether demand will accelerate as the tournament progresses and certain teams advance remains an open question, according to market observers quoted in this story.