by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 12:55 PM ET, Mon March 30, 2026
Hotel blocks that had been booked by FIFA in World Cup game host cities are being released back onto the market, opening thousands of rooms for clamouring fans.
The B.C. Hotel Association says FIFA has cancelled between 70 and 80 per cent of the group room blocks it had initially booked across all host cities during the World Cup tournament. As is the case in the other host cities including Toronto, officials in Vancouver are reporting that a chunk of the hotel rooms that had been reserved for FIFA officials and media delegates have been cancelled.
While it’s not unusual for a large event to reserve more rooms than they will need and cancel some closer to the date once numbers are finalized, the number of rooms they are releasing is notable.
According to CBC News, the cancellations work out to 15,000 rooms each night in Vancouver, between June 11 and July 19.
“It certainly does seem high,” says Paul Hawes, president and CEO of the B.C. Hotel Association.
Those hoping the new inventory will mean cheaper room rates are likely out of luck, however. Hawes told CBC News that FIFA has informed him that Vancouver is one of the top performing host cities in terms of hotel bookings, travel demand and ticket sales — second only to New York City.
During World Cup, hotel occupancy rates are expected to be around 90 percent, catering to the anticipated 350,000 visitors to the city. “The demand continues to be high … there's no reason to change the pricing,” explains Hawes.
Demand is only expected to rise. Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver, figures it will get busier as the event gets closer. “Booking behaviour is later and later,” he says. “We think the demand is going to continue to grow the closer we get, and the more hype the World Cup offers up in terms of who's coming here — we still have a team to decide.”
Topics From This Article to Explore
