Hotel bookings in the Kansas City region around FIFA World Cup time are “below expectations,” according to an industry survey.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association conducted the survey and found that hotel bookings at all FIFA World Cup host cities are lower than expected, but even more so in Kansas City. Roughly 85 to 90% of those surveyed in the KC region say they’ve received fewer reservations than expected.
The survey also found that bookings in the Kansas City area for June and July are around the same level they would normally be without a major scheduled event.
In response, Visit KC sent a statement to Missourinet, saying that while “occupancy” has not followed FIFA’s “projected expectations” so far, there are “positive indicators on the horizon,” including an increasing demand for air travel to Kansas City for June and July.
The full statement from Visit KC’s Derik Detter, Director of Marketing Research:
While hotel occupancy in Kansas City has not followed the expectations originally projected by FIFA to this point, our hotel community continues to fine tune their approach to existing demand, leveraging this once-in-a-generation event. That said, there are positive indicators on the horizon.
As with all other host cities, Kansas City is seeing a change in travel booking behavior for potential FIFA World Cup 2026 visitors. Booking windows are shortening with more last-minute travel decisions being made, particularly for international visitors, and ever-changing global landscapes are impacting all aspects of travel. However, while increasingly concentrated and domestic-led, demand is growing in the market.
We are seeing positive data for travel to Kansas City, including air demand peaking over World Cup, with June (+48% YoY) and July (+32% YoY) showing the strongest considerable growth as well as forward booking data showing Kansas City International Airport (MCI) outperforming both its competitive set and the U.S. average across domestic, international and overall demand growth this summer, with the strongest gains occurring during peak match windows. Additionally, Kansas City was named the No. 1 trending summer travel destination, according to Google Flight data, proving there is significant interest in the destination.
While airline capacity alone doesn’t capture the full picture, especially for a strong drive market like Kansas City, momentum is building and 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.
MoDOT’s Amtrak line preparing for 2026 FIFA World Cup
Meanwhile, Missouri’s exclusive Amtrak line is prepping for the FIFA World Cup. Alex Schroeder is Administrator of Railroads for the Missouri Dept. of Transportation.
“We’ve heard from Amtrak that as of right now, ticket bookings are up about 30% compared to this time last year,” Schroeder told Missourinet. “We’re expecting to meet that demand by adding some additional cars, which will add about 25% capacity to each train that runs on the Missouri River Runner.”
Schroeder said one extra passenger car will be added to each train daily between June 15 through July 12, and that each passenger car can carry up to 70 people. There will not be an increase in the number of daily trips on the Missouri River Runner during the World Cup.
“The cars will go to the existing trains, and they’ll run on the exact same schedule that they’re running right now,” Schroeder said.
He also told Missourinet that Amtrak is handling security planning for the expected boost in train traffic during the matches.
“Amtrak does have a police force…they’re already working on their security plans for (Union Station) in Kansas City and (Union Station) in St. Louis as well, and then how they’re going to be making sure that security transitions to the train,” Schroeder said.
The FIFA World Cup matches in Kansas City are scheduled from June 15 through July 12.
Copyright © 2026 · Missourinet