Vancouver hotel bookings down ahead of FIFA World Cup, data shows

Vancouver hotel bookings down ahead of FIFA World Cup, data shows

B.C. jobs minister bullish on economic potential of tournament, though data shows drop in bookings from 2025

British Columbia's jobs minister isn't disputing hotel data that suggests Vancouver hotel vacancies on World Cup game days are up sharply compared to the same dates last year.

But Ravi Kahlon took a positive view of analytics provided by U.S. hotel data firm CoStar, showing that as of June 1, occupancy for Vancouver's first match day on Saturday between Australia and Turkey was 57.4 per cent, down from 71.6 per cent on the same date a year ago.

Kahlon said the CoStar data showed Vancouver's occupancy rates were the highest among the 14 host cities in the survey, although it was unclear how he reached that conclusion.

Vancouver's average occupancy for its seven game days was 47.9 per cent, while the Mexican city of Guadalajara had an average of 56.5 per cent for its four game days, and Monterrey sat at 50.5 per cent during its four matches.

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Kahlon said Vancouver International Airport was projecting 2.7 million passengers to arrive over the course of the tournament, calling it a "significant increase" from the same period last year.

"We have seen week-over-week increases in hotel bookings," Kahlon said, citing data he said the government received from Destination Vancouver.

He said the vacancies were not unusual and he expected a "whirlwind of activity," based on B.C.'s experience of hosting other major events.

"We are already starting to see that, and it's a huge opportunity," he said.

Vancouver faces hotel shortage ahead of World Cup

The CoStar data that looked at bookings in host cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada suggested that occupancy was picking up in most places as game days approached.

But it also showed that bookings were down compared to last year in both Toronto and Vancouver, where the shortfalls were greater.

For instance, occupancy in Vancouver for June 18, the day of the Canada-Qatar match, was 50.3 per cent, down by about a third from 73.8 per cent last year.

Travel websites still showed four-star hotel rooms available in downtown Vancouver from about $350 on Saturday.

Kahlon said vacancies for the two knockout matches in Vancouver on July 2 and July 7 were understandable, because nobody knew which teams would play.

"Many soccer fans are projecting possibly Portugal to be here," he said. "We know the Portuguese fans are going to follow this team to wherever they are going to go."

The July 2 occupancy rate was 44.2 per cent, down from 75.8 per cent, and the occupancy rate for July 7 was 38 per cent, down from 46.5 per cent.

"So, when we see where there are gaps in the hotel booking, it's really in the later rounds, and we know that will be dependent on which teams qualify, and their fan base being able to come here and enjoy the game," Kahlon said.

Hotel association says bookings down

The government has suggested the World Cup will bring about $1 billion in GDP growth over the next five years.

But the British Columbia Hotel Association last month blamed flawed "messaging" for vacancies heading into the tournament, that had left tourists with the false impression no rooms were available.

It said June hotel occupancy rates in downtown Vancouver were pacing about 15 per cent behind the same period last year.

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CoStar's data shows hotel occupancy rates as of June 1 for five out of the seven games days in Vancouver are below 50 per cent, while four of six game days in Toronto are below 50 per cent.

The occupancy rate in Toronto on Friday, when Canada plays its first group-stage match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, is 55.5 per cent, down from 67.9 per cent on June 12 last year.

Adam van Koeverden, Canada's secretary of state for sport, said Wednesday that there was more to hospitality than hotels, and he predicted that patios would be packed.

With files from The Canadian Press's Nick Murray