World Cup: FIFA, US hotels clash over canceled booking reservations, pricing
Gilbert Ekugbe
A dispute has emerged between the hotel industry and FIFA over how accommodation for the upcoming World Cup has been managed, with hotels claiming that large-scale room reservations distorted demand forecasts and created what they describe as “artificial demand”.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association said hotels across the United States made long-term investments based on official projections tied to the tournament, but argue that early booking patterns by FIFA disrupted the market.
As reported by BBC Sport on Wednesday, the association said “The large-scale bookings made by FIFA in all cities shaped revenue forecasts, staffing plans and preparations. This booking policy ‘manufactured artificial demand’ and masked the fact that tourist flow is going to be lower than predicted.”
