Despite World Cup, KC hotels booking less than typical summers. What’s going on?
On the front page of InterContinental Kansas City’s website, the curve-shaped hotel near the Country Club Plaza notes that the FIFA World Cup is coming to town, and a rush of guests are likely coming with it.
“Plan early,” the hotel advises. “Space will be limited.”
But World Cup visitors who may travel to Kansas City for some of the matches don’t appear to be taking the advice. Hotels throughout the city are still waiting for an influx of bookings for the global soccer tournament that kicks off in just over a month.
While guest reservations are beginning to pick up, the city still has many rooms available, said Andrea O’Hara, executive director for the Hotel and Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City.
“It’s true, our hotels are not full,” O’Hara told The Star. “We have lots of inventory available throughout the metro.”
The large amount of hotel inventory is notable because tourism officials have touted an expected economic boom for the city from the global event. Visit KC estimates up to 650,000 soccer fans to visit the metro area, which officials say could bring more than $600 million of new economic activity.
Grand expectations pitched by FIFA and tourism officials have fallen flat in other host cities, like New York. Some hotel professionals there are questioning whether the World Cup will live up to those lofty projections.
A new report by the American Hotel and Lodging Association casts further doubt. It also shows Kansas City is the most negatively impacted by the booking drought among U.S. host cities.
More than 85% of the organization’s members in Kansas City that responded to the study reported lower than expected bookings. They also reported receiving fewer reservations than a typical June or July.
But local hotel professionals remain cautiously optimistic. Jeff Keeley, the InterContinental’s manager, said he still expects hotel reservations to ramp up as the tournament draws closer.
“We’re still holding out hope that it will continue to grow and it’ll be a boon for us,” he said.
‘Peaks and valleys’
Unlike most major events that last just a couple of days, like the NFL draft, some speculation ahead of the World Cup suggested thousands of visitors may stay at local hotels for the weeks-long duration of the tournament, like fans of the national teams making the Kansas City metro their home base.
However, area tourism workers say many visitors have booked for just a few days.
O’Hara said World Cup guests who have already secured their rooms tend to book for a day or two around specific match days, rather than for an extended period of time.
“What we’re seeing in the pattern is some peaks and valleys in between games,” O’Hara said.
O’Hara said there is still potential for more long-term stays at Kansas City hotels. She noted the Argentina national team — the reigning world champions who also boast a massive fan base and possibly the best player who ever lived — is one of the teams that picked Kansas City as its home base during the tournament. O’Hara said that could mean Argentina fans will spend most of their time staying at Kansas City hotels to be close to their soccer heroes.
“We’re hoping during those times in between matches,” O’Hara said, “we can have some sustainability with the folks coming to be in the same host city as their team.”
Amid the lagging hotel reservations, Visit KC still believes in the 650,000 visitor estimate.
Derik Detter, Director of Market Research at Visit KC, said in an email to The Star that the tourism organization sees positive data showing the rush of fans is coming. He pointed to Google Flight data showing Kansas City is the top trending destination this summer.
“While airline capacity alone doesn’t capture the full picture, especially for a strong drive market like Kansas City, momentum is building,” Detter said in the email. “With more than a month until the tournament kicks off, Kansas City is still expecting to welcome record-breaking numbers of visitors to the Heart of America.”
Taking their time
And the guests are starting to trickle in, O’Hara said.
That’s the case for the Crossroads Hotel, located just north of Union Station. General Manager Mikel Ruder said he’s seeing a “noticeable spike” in bookings for May, June and July that are higher than a typical summer. But he said it appears some fans are taking more time than expected to book their accommodations.
“Travelers appear to be taking a more deliberate approach to booking given deposit structures and cancellation policies currently in place,” Ruder said in an email. “So the pacing feels more reflective of timing than hesitation around demand.”
Keeley mentioned some visitors planning to come to Kansas City may be waiting for room prices to fall. Many hotels are charging higher prices for the expected surge in demand.
For instance, a standard room at InterContinental Kansas City this Friday is listed for $222 a night. A standard room for the Friday before the June 27 match featuring Austria and Algeria is listed for $488 a night, more than twice as much.
Meanwhile, Keeley said his hotel may be in a better position than other hotels because FIFA booked rooms for many broadcast workers to stay there. Unlike most World Cup visitors, those guests will be staying at the hotel for the entire tournament.
Keeley said some have already arrived.
“No matter what happens they are still going to broadcast the games from here,” Keeley said. “We kind of lucked out by getting that group.”
A late rush?
Still, Kansas City could see a late rush of guests. Ruder said that may be a more likely outcome here than other World Cup cities.
“Because Kansas City has a much smaller hotel room inventory compared to some larger host markets, we expect limited availability and demand intensity to become especially pronounced as the event approaches,” Ruder said.
The tournament’s structure adds to the suspense. Two of the six matches in Kansas City will be in the knockout stage, so fans will only know which teams will play in those matches a few days prior. That means last-minute ticket purchases, travel plans and hotel reservations are likely for those matches.
O’Hara said that sums up how local hotel leaders don’t know what to expect during this new experience.
“This is a unique event,” O’Hara said. “There’s nothing else like the World Cup.”
