Hotels are struggling to find guests ahead of the World Cup

Toronto’s hospitality industry was bracing for a hotel booking frenzy ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but with only three weeks before the first match, those expectations have cratered. This comes after FIFA cancelled thousands of hotel reservations across North America in March, an operational adjustment after overbooking accommodations for athletes, referees and technical staff.

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Sara Anghel, president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, confirmed to CTV News that the cancellations have left hoteliers with a hole rather than a windfall. Although no official figures for Toronto have been released, cancellations in Vancouver amounted to 15,000 nightly bookings.

The softer demand chips away at the projected economic benefit of hosting the World Cup. Organizers previously estimated that the festivities would generate $940 million in the GTHA and that this revenue would theoretically cover the cost of hosting the games. A new PBO report put the planned spend for Toronto at $380 million, including more than $149 million from Ottawa and roughly $230 million from Queen’s Park and the city. But critics have projected that the true cost will far exceed those numbers.

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The city’s disappointing hotel performance is not unexpected given inflationary pricing. According to a report from the Athletic, Toronto hotel prices jumped 78 per cent after the World Cup schedule was released; ironically, this was the lowest increase of any host city. In Mexico, hotel prices jumped 961 per cent, and across the 16 host cities, prices surged by an average of 328 per cent.