ANALYSIS – Were you match-fit to manage business travel during the FIFA World Cup and other major global events?

It could be a strange FIFA World Cup. Normally, business travellers are advised to stay away from host cities during major sporting tournaments because flights and hotels are astronomically expensive or totally unavailable.

But this year’s World Cup, which kicked off in Mexico City on 11 June and comprised 104 matches (40 more than in 2022) spread across 16 cities in three countries, was set to be different.  Hotel rates were up sharply in Mexican and Canadian host cities – by 25-75 per cent on average, according to FCM Consulting.

The USA is a different story. According to the American Hotel Lodging Association, 88 per cent of hoteliers in Kansas City reported underperforming World Cup bookings, followed by San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and Boston, all on 75 per cent. Atlanta has the fewest unhappy hoteliers, with only 48 per cent saying bookings were underperforming. Reasons were believed to include the high cost of attending matches, fears challenging border-entry rules and widespread dislike of the Trump administration’s policies and personalities.

But even if there is more availability and at lower rates than expected, hotels may have found it difficult to attract business travellers, who had already have made alternative plans at this late stage. Travel managers usually advise travellers to anticipate big sporting events by not travelling at all, seeking alternative locations where feasible or booking very early.

The advice is given with good reason. During the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, for example, hotel rates surged 280-520 per cent, according to daily newspaper Les Échos. Confidence that they can fill their rooms often persuades hotels to create blackout dates where they do not honour corporate rates.

Travel managers also need to watch out for exceptional demand periods during other kinds of events. The world’s biggest musical stars now have the ability to affect the hotel market when their tours roll into town.

There is even a word for this phenomenon: Swiftonomics. Taylor Swift’s Eras tour of 2023-24 created US$1 billion of additional revenue for hotels, JLL Hotel & Hospitality Group estimated at the time. As an example, when the US singer’s show hit Edinburgh, demand for the Scottish capital’s rooms exceeded supply by 25 per cent, pushing rates up to UK£686.

Aside from pricing concerns, travel managers will also had one eye on this year’s  World Cup for potential security risks. A volatile geopolitical situation, combined with extreme polarisation of a population inside the USA with ready access to weapons, has put security officials on alert for international or domestically inspired terrorism and outbreaks of civil unrest.

As ever, travel managers needed to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Precautions should include reviewing crisis management plans and working in partnership with a travel risk consultancy. It is also a good time to check and, if necessary, strengthen corporate travel insurance policies.