Vacation Rentals in World Cup Host Cities Raked in Staggering $1.3 Billion From Visiting Fans

The 2026 FIFA World Cup attracted new fans to the sport and generated more than a billion dollars in revenue for vacation rental hosts in host cities, though some cities saw greater windfalls than others.Short-term rentals on Airbnb and other platforms in host cities generated $1.33 billion in revenue during the tournament, June 10–July 19, according to data and analytics firm AirDNA. That's around $276.7 million more than those cities brought in during the same period last year.Part of the surplus revenue could be attributed to additional bookings. More than 2.3 million Airbnb nights were booked during the group stage alone, which ran June 10–27, according to AirDNA data. That's an 11% increase year over year.The 39-day global soccer tournament was held this year in 16 cities across North America, including Los Angeles; Philadelphia; Atlanta; New York City; Boston; Seattle; Kansas City, MO; San Francisco; Houston; Dallas; and Miami in the U.S.As well, matches were held in Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, and Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara in Mexico.The World Cup was big money for Airbnb hostsAs Dan Hunt, president of FC Dallas and co-chair of the North Texas FIFA World Cu...