World Cup tourism forecasts keep coming in soft, but that’s only half the story. With corporations treating the tournament as client entertainment, Navan’s data shows business travel to host cities surged nearly 50% in the US and almost quadrupled in Canada. Leisure travelers may be hesitating, but enterprise budgets are here for “the ultimate can’t-miss event.”
- In the US, host cities’ hotel prices jumped 30% to an average of ~$1.6K per trip — with the Bay Area and NYC commanding the highest tabs yet.
- Travelers are moving early too — Toronto flight bookings came in 51 days earlier than last year, and Philadelphia hotel reservations arrived 33 days earlier.
Cashing in: All that corporate spend has to land somewhere, and Deutsche Bank thinks it knows where. Amid the longest World Cup ever, the bank rates DiamondRock, Host Hotels, Park Hotels, and Ryman Hospitality as buys — betting that full-service hotels thrive as delegations book entire floors, meeting space, and catering. Airbnb made the list too, with Goldman Sachs separately flagging the same supply-and-demand spike. With 48 teams, 104 matches, and 39 days, somebody’s expense report is about to get very crowded.
