New York City just refused to lift its short-term rental restrictions for the FIFA World Cup, removing roughly 20,000 Airbnb listings from the supply equation during the biggest event the city has hosted in decades. If you're running a hotel in the metro area and you haven't repriced your June and July inventory yet, someone else already has.
FIFA is scattering 48 national teams across smaller U.S. cities for World Cup base camps this summer, and the hotels near those training sites are about to experience something no forecast model prepared them for. The question isn't whether demand shows up... it's whether you're ready for demand that travels with a security detail and a nutritionist.
The Hotel Trades Council's contract expires right as the FIFA World Cup fills every room in New York. If you think that's a coincidence, you haven't been paying attention for the last two years.
