ATLANTA — In the leadup to the FIFA World Cup coming to Atlanta, officials and economics experts initially said it would be a boost for hotels and short-term rentals.
During the actual 2026 matchups in the city, Channel 2 Action News reported how reservations at hotels were slower than expected.
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The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau told Channel 2 Action News in early July that hotel bookings had not met expectations. Ahead of the games, FIFA once promised an impact equal to eight Super Bowls.
New data from the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau is shedding light on the hotel situation during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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Reservations at metro Atlanta hotels were down, and not just in the city itself.
By the numbers, tax revenue, convention hotel bookings, bookings of hotels within a mile of the Georgia World Congress Center and bookings at hotels across the whole metro Atlanta area were lower than the year before for July.
According to ACVB, July 2026 saw the following decreases:
- ACVB tax revenue: -2.3% in July
- Atlanta convention hotel occupancy: -3.1%
- Hotel occupancy within 1-mile radius of GWCC: -5.1%
- Metro Atlanta hotel occupancy: -1.2%
Additional data from ACVB showed that hotel occupancy was only higher than the year before in two categories, Buckhead area hotels and at the Top 25 Luxury hotels, where bookings were 2% higher than last July.
Downtown and midtown hotel occupancy, hotels near GWCC and the city’s major convention hotels were the categories hit hardest, according to the data, each with 10% or more fewer guests in the month of July.
While numbers year-to-date had less of a sharp change, the data showed similar trends of lower across the metro area, but more bookings in Buckhead and at luxury spots.
Channel 2 Action News reported on data post-FIFA that showed those hosting guests at short-term rentals during the games made about 60% more than normal.
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