Stand by Kansas City hotels, BRBs and community helpers. It’s about time to roll out the red carpet because—hello—here comes the world.
Kansas City, the smallest host city, is expecting around 650,000 visitors for the 2026 World Cup, creating an economic impact of $653 million, according to KC2026, the nonprofit organization overseeing strategy and delivering host city duties for this summer’s soccer extravaganza.
All those visitors—World Cup fans, staff, families of players and just the soccer-curious from all around the world—are vying for a reportedly 55,000 rooms at three-star or better hotels within a two hour drive of Arrowhead, which is the criteria that FIFA used to qualify any host city.
Visitors will rotate in and out over multiple match days, but even with staggered stays, demand is expected to stretch the region’s lodging capacity—especially downtown—where hotels are showing bigtime bump-ups for the cup crowd. A night at the Sheraton at Crown Center goes for $264 now. During the cup, it’s $550. Hotel Phillips charges $138 a night now. That jumps to $529 by late June.
It’s pretty much the same hotel story everywhere you go in the greater Kansas City area. One night at the Hyatt Place in the Overland Park Convention Center goes for $140 right now. During the cup, it’s nearly $400 a night.
There are approximately 4,000-plus short term rental homes listed in the metro area, most reasonably priced around $100 to 200 a night. They’re not all Air BnBs or VBROs, and not all are licensed to operate during the cup dates. Many cities in both Missouri and Kansas have no regulations about short term rentals.
But Air BnB wants to help. It is offering a $750 incentive for any new short term rental homes opening up between now and July 31 in host cities. They say homeowners could make an average of $3,000 during the tournament.
The city of Kansas City revised their short term rental ordinance for the cup, offering a reduced registration fee ($50 instead of $200) for major event short term licenses from May 3 to July 31. Parkville will allow an unlimited number of short term rentals from May 1 through July 31.
Wyandotte County has removed or relaxed short-term rental requirements for the cup, and activated a digital application process and payment portal. Applications are being accepted now through July 30 for a short term hosting period of May 4 through July 31. Assistant Wyandotte County Administrator Alan Howze told Kansas City magazine that he and his wife are talking about hosting. “It’d be a lot of fun, almost like having a student coming from overseas,” he says. “I think it could be an enriching experience for both parties.”
Short term rentals for the cup are a mixed bag in Johnson County. Discussions in the county have been postponed until later in March. But for now, Overland Park offers no changes to their usual short term rental agreements. Prairie Village and Leawood prohibit them altogether. Roeland Park has approved temporary licensing just for the tournament period.
But wait. There is another lodging angle: community connections.
Claudia Luna West, the owner and manager of Buenos Aires Restaurant and Bakery, says she is in contact with 1,500 Argentinians looking for places to stay. “Argentinians are very similar in many ways to Kansas Citians,” she says. “We are family-oriented, we are food-oriented, and we love sports. I say we are from the land of champions to the land of champions, because we are the champions of the world and you guys are champions with the Chiefs.” Fred Keeney, a friend of West, is considering opening his house to at least one Argentinian visitor. “I spent 22 years in the Marines, so I’ve been all over the world and seen all kinds of cultures,” he says. “My experience with Argentinians is that they’re outgoing. They’re really talkative. They like to listen to other people. “And after they leave, I want them to feel like, wow, these are really, really good people, and we got to see it firsthand.”
