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BumRushDaShow

(169,303 posts)
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 04:05 AM 12 hrs ago

FIFA is canceling its reserved hotel rooms in World Cup host cities - but nobody is saying why

Source: The Independent

Monday 23 March 2026 16:33 EDT


FIFA has cancelled the reservations for thousands of hotel rooms originally reserved for this year's World Cup event in Philadelphia, but hasn’t said why.

Approximately 2,000 hotel rooms have been cancelled by FIFA, the world soccer organization, at hotels in the city, according to the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association. The group had previously blocked off approximately 10,000 rooms.

Ed Grose, the president of the Philadelphia Hotel Association, told ABC 6 that the bulk of the cancellations were at four City Center hotels. He also told reporters that FIFA did not provide a reason for the cancellations, but acted within the terms of its contract and was not penalized for the cancellations. The Independent has requested comment from FIFA and the Philadelphia Hotel Association.

FIFA hotel cancellations are hitting other U.S. host cities as well, according to Grose. He said it's unclear how the cancellations will affect hotel pricing, but he encouraged fans who are looking for rooms not to wait to book their stays.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/fifa-world-cup-2026-hotel-rooms-host-cities-b2944127.html



This was big news here. We do have a pile of big events going on here this year for obvious reasons but I suppose the hotels are obviously flummoxed.
31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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FIFA is canceling its reserved hotel rooms in World Cup host cities - but nobody is saying why (Original Post) BumRushDaShow 12 hrs ago OP
The same FIFA that awarded Trump a "peace prize"? SunSeeker 12 hrs ago #1
That was hapless reactivity Cosmocat 9 hrs ago #7
Actually frees up rooms JustAnotherGen 7 hrs ago #11
so does this mean Trump, the vomit spewing toddler-in-chief, agingdem 6 hrs ago #19
He's already eaten the chocolate, only the gold foil remains. eggplant 6 hrs ago #20
He probably stuck the foil on wall in the Oval Office. sheshe2 2 hrs ago #26
Hmm... OldBaldy1701E 10 hrs ago #2
FIFA is probably anticipating the likelihood that some athletes from some countries, Ocelot II 2 hrs ago #27
FIFA should have pulled any games scheduled out of the US Old Crank 10 hrs ago #3
Agree 100%, instead they tried to make a deal with the devil. dem4decades 9 hrs ago #6
Those knowledgeable about FIFA popsdenver 6 hrs ago #17
Short term plan: suck up to Trmp. Long term plan: move away from Trmp. eppur_se_muova 10 hrs ago #4
Don't want to get ICEd IronLionZion 10 hrs ago #5
Reason #1 Botany 9 hrs ago #8
If they were going to move the World Cup events to Canada or Mexico FakeNoose 6 hrs ago #15
eye bleaching warning bdamomma 6 hrs ago #16
After reading all the replies, Delphinus 8 hrs ago #9
This is standard inventory management. QueerDuck 8 hrs ago #10
Very good point. SergeStorms 7 hrs ago #12
Thank you AverageOldGuy 7 hrs ago #13
That's the excuse they gave here BumRushDaShow 7 hrs ago #14
Yes. I think that the turnout from international visitors supporting their teams will be thin. QueerDuck 5 hrs ago #21
Well since this is the U.S. 250th/semiquincentennial BumRushDaShow 5 hrs ago #22
Stop with the rational explanations! maxsolomon 4 hrs ago #23
Sorry. I'll try to do better in the future... or worse... depending. QueerDuck 2 hrs ago #25
The truth about World Cup ticket demand and why USA's opener has struggled to sell out BlueWavePsych 6 hrs ago #18
"Hello, you've reached the FIFA TRUMP SUITES INTERNATIONAL. How can we help you?" littlemissmartypants 4 hrs ago #24
Would not be surprised if Fifa is going to pull all it's games from the u.s. mwmisses4289 2 hrs ago #28
I love the USA............... Lovie777 2 hrs ago #29
I live in Philadelphia JBTaurus83 1 hr ago #30
I live here too BumRushDaShow 41 min ago #31

Cosmocat

(15,411 posts)
7. That was hapless reactivity
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 07:05 AM
9 hrs ago

Likely some kind of BOD stupidity.

I get that they were in a tough spot, working so hard to make the gains they have made in the US market.

But, at the very least they should have been gaming how to move US sites to other countries since May of last year and committed to doing it by late summer.

agingdem

(8,835 posts)
19. so does this mean Trump, the vomit spewing toddler-in-chief,
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 10:35 AM
6 hrs ago

will have to return the absurdly named FIFA Peace Prize?...I do hope FIFA is globally ridiculed for awarding a sadistic war-monger a "peace" prize...





sheshe2

(97,432 posts)
26. He probably stuck the foil on wall in the Oval Office.
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 02:30 PM
2 hrs ago

It blends in well with the other cheap crap he has there.

OldBaldy1701E

(11,069 posts)
2. Hmm...
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 06:24 AM
10 hrs ago

So, start the downward slide of these hotels and then they will be easier to buy out.

Or, easier to... control...?

Or, FIFA is just going to screw the entire event over because they are getting flak from other nations.

Who can say?

Ocelot II

(130,418 posts)
27. FIFA is probably anticipating the likelihood that some athletes from some countries,
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 02:36 PM
2 hrs ago

or maybe some entire teams, will not want to participate.

Old Crank

(7,007 posts)
3. FIFA should have pulled any games scheduled out of the US
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 06:33 AM
10 hrs ago

There is still time to reschedule in Canada and Mexico.

When teams and or their fans can't get to games it shouldn't be held in the US.

dem4decades

(14,029 posts)
6. Agree 100%, instead they tried to make a deal with the devil.
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 07:01 AM
9 hrs ago

And soccer fans of the world are forced to pay for it.

popsdenver

(2,235 posts)
17. Those knowledgeable about FIFA
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 10:21 AM
6 hrs ago

will tell you that FIFA is the world's 2nd most corrupt criminal organization.........with U.S. Republicans taking first place..........

eppur_se_muova

(41,875 posts)
4. Short term plan: suck up to Trmp. Long term plan: move away from Trmp.
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 06:38 AM
10 hrs ago

Nothing personal, it's just business.

Or so I'm hoping.

Botany

(77,254 posts)
8. Reason #1
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 07:08 AM
9 hrs ago


Reason # 2

They are going to pull the World Cup from America

Reason # 3

FIFA doesn’t want its game to be terrorist targets

Well I hope all those Trump voters who own businesses that were expecting $ from
the World Cup are now happy.

Reason # 4

FAFO




FakeNoose

(41,485 posts)
15. If they were going to move the World Cup events to Canada or Mexico
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 10:07 AM
6 hrs ago

... they should have done it already, like LAST YEAR. Instead they doubled down on their bet on Chump.

The simple answer is that people aren't buying tickets, they won't come to the US venues. World Cup is going to lose a ton of cash on this, and hopefully there will be a change in FIFA leadership after this.

Delphinus

(12,515 posts)
9. After reading all the replies,
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 08:07 AM
8 hrs ago

and I agree with them, I'm wondering if this ties in to Thiel wanting Vance to pull the 25. One more nail in the coffin of the orange shitgibbon.

UPDATE: Not Thiel but Scott McConnell of the American Conservative Magazine.

QueerDuck

(1,666 posts)
10. This is standard inventory management.
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 08:57 AM
8 hrs ago

FIFA held 10,000 rooms and realized they only needed 8,000. For the hotels, this actually frees up rooms to sell to regular fans at (likely) even higher rates.

Major organizations like FIFA often place massive "block" holds on hotel rooms years in advance to ensure they aren't priced out. As the event schedule becomes clearer, they release the excess rooms they no longer need for staff, media, or dignitaries.

BumRushDaShow

(169,303 posts)
14. That's the excuse they gave here
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 09:48 AM
7 hrs ago

But given what is going on with the Visa issues for a number of countries, there might be less of a foreign fan crowd understandably expected and thus yet another blow to the U.S. tourist and hospitality industry.

QueerDuck

(1,666 posts)
21. Yes. I think that the turnout from international visitors supporting their teams will be thin.
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 11:05 AM
5 hrs ago

It's unlikely that the difference will be made up domestically to match the optimistic number of reservations.

Momma always told me... don't count your chickens before they hatch. 🐤🐣🥚

BumRushDaShow

(169,303 posts)
22. Well since this is the U.S. 250th/semiquincentennial
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 11:24 AM
5 hrs ago

with a lot of overlapping events, they probably factored that in as well to reserve for these games. But it will be interesting to see how many even attempt to go those other events given the fuel costs, etc. The hotels might be forced to go cheaper than planned to get people out in this environment!

maxsolomon

(38,656 posts)
23. Stop with the rational explanations!
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 12:08 PM
4 hrs ago

Don't you know we need to talk about President MFer more?

BlueWavePsych

(3,333 posts)
18. The truth about World Cup ticket demand and why USA's opener has struggled to sell out
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 10:25 AM
6 hrs ago
The unexpected sale was, some experts suspect, the clearest evidence yet that FIFA has perhaps overstated demand for some World Cup games — or, rather, that it has priced out segments of that demand.

It is not entirely clear why FIFA created this surprise sales window. One source suggested that the inventory could include tickets that had been offered to (and declined by) broadcasters and sponsors. Others assume it was tickets that FIFA wasn’t able to sell in its main lottery phase, the “Random Selection Draw,” which wrapped up last month.

And to people who’ve followed the World Cup ticketing process, the overarching conclusion was reasonably clear.

“They have a lot of inventory they need to move,” Barry Kahn, a former ticketing executive who helped pioneer dynamic pricing in sports, told The Athletic.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7080325/2026/03/02/fifa-world-cup-ticket-surprise-window-demand-usmnt/

mwmisses4289

(4,058 posts)
28. Would not be surprised if Fifa is going to pull all it's games from the u.s.
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 02:39 PM
2 hrs ago

because of pressure from the various teams. Trumps ice goons, denying visas to teams from certain countries, refusing to guarantee they won't be taken by ice, lack of ticket sales...no games will be played in the U.S., they will be moved to other countries for the safety of the players, the fans, the owners of those teams.

Lovie777

(22,892 posts)
29. I love the USA...............
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 02:48 PM
2 hrs ago

nothing is perfect in reality, and there are things I don't like.

But at present, I feel unsafe in security and economically. The US have insane persons over the government, congress, courts, intelligence agencies, law enforcement's and religion. These nut cases are destroying the USA inside and out.

I truly understand where the FIFA is coming from.

JBTaurus83

(1,338 posts)
30. I live in Philadelphia
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 03:15 PM
1 hr ago

And the city allocated hundreds and hundreds of millions towards the events this summer. I was even considering renting my home out on Airbnb since I’m close to the stadiums and Independence Hall. It seems the US Federal government has done just about everything possible to make the summer less lucrative than anticipated.

Hours long airport delays, and Nazi storm troopers to greet foreign visitors, a war in Iran which not only will increase the cost of air fare, but, makes terrorism more likely, and the Pig insulting basically everyone else on the planet.

BumRushDaShow

(169,303 posts)
31. I live here too
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 04:15 PM
41 min ago

and between the FIFA matches, the MLB All Star Game in July -



and the Liberty Medal presentation to Pope Leo XIV the day before July 4th (with a live video feed of his acceptance), it's gonna be nuts, and I can imagine 45 making it even more nuts.

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