Kansas City hotels expect hundreds of thousands during 2026 FIFA World Cup

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City is almost one year away from hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Hotels and Visit KC are in preparation mode, with hundreds of thousands of visitors expected from all over the world next summer.

Kansas City gearing up to host six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

As the one-year mark approaches, Kansas City’s World Cup committee joined other U.S. host cities in New York City to discuss how they’re preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

There will be six matches in Kansas City, the first kicks off June 16, 2026, at Arrowhead Stadium.

Typically, hotels begin taking reservations starting at the one-year mark. Hundreds of thousands of people in town will need a place to stay.

“It’s going to be like a super bowl for us,” said Nathan Wood, director of sales and marketing at the InterContinental .

Wood said the hotel in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza has more than 370 rooms.

While some large groups have already solidified contracts for stays when the World Cup is in town, Wood said people cannot book a room for the 2026 event quite yet.

He said the hotel doesn’t accept reservations until 50 weeks out, which is a little less than a year in advance.

Wood said their team is excited to “showcase what great hospitality we have in Kansas City.”

“This is going to be one of the largest things that has ever happened in Kansas City,” he said. “So, we’re kind of in uncharted territory right now.”

Makenzie Wolters with Visit KC said during the tournament, we can expect to see 650,000 visitors.

“That’s people from outside the Kansas City region that are going to come here [and] need to stay at hotels, need to eat at our restaurants, visit all of our attractions when they’re not at a match or the FanFest,” Wolters said. “So, we’re excited to have hundreds of thousands of people visit Kansas City.”

She said, based on the data so far, hotels will see increased occupancy right before, during and following a match. She said they’re expecting at least 80% occupancy metro-wide, if not more.

“That will lead to some increased rates for all of our hotel partners for people who are coming and staying there,” she said, “And hopefully for our hotels that means they will have record revenue the next summer, as well.”

Wolters said Kansas City had to demonstrate in its initial World Cup bid that there were enough hotel rooms within 2.5 hours from Kansas City.

• Kansas: There are 21,830 hotel rooms within 2.5 hours of Kansas City that will generate an estimated economic impact of $163.1 million and $10.7 million in state taxes.
• Missouri: There are 36,720 hotel rooms within 2.5 hours of Kansas City that will generate an estimated economic impact of $489.4 million and $20.7 million in state taxes.

“Kansas City is sometimes known as a destination where you can show up and find a hotel that night,” Wolters said. “I don’t think that’s going to be the case that night.”

She said it would be a smart move to book your room sooner rather than later.

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