By Maria Tsvetkova
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, June 13 (Reuters) - Days before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there was no outward sign that this desolate, trash-strewn parking lot in New Jersey would soon become one of the priciest stretches of asphalt in the tri-state area.
The newly refurbished World of Blue hotel will charge soccer fans $450 to park here on the night of the tournament final, to be held across the highway at MetLife Stadium, which will host eight matches in total over
the next five weeks.
Booking a room for the final on July 19 will cost you around $2,300, according to World of Blue’s website, or about seven times what you would pay a month later. But it does come with a discounted parking spot — for $383.
This expanse of warehouses and wetlands between New York City and Philadelphia is generally a place you pass through on the way to somewhere else — like Tony Soprano in the opening credits of “The Sopranos” — or where you stay when you can’t afford a place in Manhattan. But its proximity to MetLife had local hoteliers banking on a surge in World Cup bookings, and pricing rooms accordingly.
So far, however, demand appears to be lagging. Occupancy at World of Blue, which spent some $100 million to remake itself into a luxury destination ahead of the games, ranged from 8% to 30% for group stage games, according to front desk agent Alexandra Sanchez. Only 4% of rooms were booked for the final and just a single parking spot had been reserved as of Monday, she told Reuters.
It was the latest indication that the expected rush of soccer fans to host cities in the United States has yet to fully materialize, which industry analysts and travel agents attribute to a combination of factors, including astronomical ticket prices and soaring airfare costs. Then there’s the lack of affordable lodging options, even in places that usually cater to budget-conscious travelers.
A room at a two-star Super 8 motel on the side of a four-lane road goes for around $500 on the night of the final match; at Extended Stay America, an economy apartment hotel chain, the latest figure was over $900.
Both places have already begun dropping room rates for group stage matches, according to a Reuters review of their websites, while higher-end hotels have kept rates elevated.
None of the hotels in this story responded to Reuters requests for comment about rates and customer demand.
‘NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT’
When Chris Andraka, 36, the director of operations at a manufacturing company, learned that his regular hotel, Marriott's SpringHill Suites, jacked up nightly rates from around $300 to $5,300 in the third week of July, he changed his plans.
"I'm not gonna work that week," he said as he got into his car. Would he recommend the hotel to World Cup fans?
"There's a pool, there's a small gym room, free breakfast — nothing to write home about," Andraka said.
Beyond the amenities, being close to the stadium, which FIFA regulations required to be debranded to New York New Jersey Stadium from MetLife for the tournament, only gets you so far. Guests who shell out for a parking spot will still need to take a shuttle or rideshare service to the matches. Making the journey on foot is highly discouraged.
"It is illegal and dangerous to walk on the roadways surrounding the stadium," read a sign at the reception desk of Extended Stay, embossed with a New Jersey police logo.
"Illegal" and "dangerous" were bolded and underlined.
Many fans will likely opt to stay in New York City, where they can enjoy the city’s nightlife and restaurant scene in between treks to New Jersey. Even there, though, the crowds may fall short of expectations.
As of June 1, 28% of hotel rooms in New York City were booked for the night of the final on July 19, versus 40% for the same date a year earlier, according to data from the CoStar analytics firm.
Jan Freitag, director of U.S. hospitality at CoStar, said there was still time for a turnaround.
"For some of the markets, the hotel demand will come once the later games in the World Cup will get seeded, and stronger teams survive, and those teams then will attract their crowds," Freitag said.
(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova; editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage and Padraic Cassidy)
