ATLANTA — At the same time that thousands of people packed Atlanta’s stadium and fan fest, data show thousands of hotel rooms stayed empty.
“When FIFA first came out and said, you know, this is going to be eight Super Bowls, we host Super Bowls. And, you know, I think we pretty much realized that it wasn’t going to be like eight Super Bowls, especially the first couple of weeks,” William Pate, president/CEO of Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna.
Data from the bureau shows occupancy rates topped out at 80% the night before Saudi Arabia took on Spain.
However, for most match days, occupancy rates hovered at or below 60%.
“I think it’s been a very typical summer, and so I think, you know, the expectations obviously were much higher,” Pate said.
So what happened?
First, international visitors did not match expectations.
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“Only 8% of the bookings that we had have been from outside the United States. Obviously, we expected a much larger international crowd,” Pate said.
On any given week, around 5% of bookings are from international travelers.
Pate believes numerous factors contributed to the lower-than-expected occupancy rate. He says the late release of tickets, the lack of premier matchups, and noon kickoffs hurt the ability to get folks to stay overnight.
“If you’re on the East Coast, it’s a 12 o’clock game. You know, you don’t have to necessarily spend the night, you know, for that, on that game night,” Pate said.
However, Pate and experts believe bookings will increase during the knockout stage.
“We’re getting those that I call soccer royalty, those countries that have large followings of passionate fans,” Pate said.
England will take on the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday. Next week, Atlanta will host a round of 16 game, which will likely feature Argentina and Lionel Messi (if they beat Cabo Verde) vs the winner of Egypt and Australia.
“I think that once you step up to England and Argentina, you’re having people book flights to come here just to experience Atlanta,” Ben Lawrence, director of the hospitality school at Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business, said.
Lawrence says he expects bookings to accelerate as the tournament progresses, as bigger teams are likely to move through the tournament.
The bureau says it had 45,000 bookings as the bracket became clearer.
Lawrence and Pate say the benefits of the World Cup should pay dividends in future years, as they hope it will help attract future conventions and business.
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