Corporate housing rates in FIFA World Cup host cities have fallen sharply from forecast highs, while easing visa rules have sent corporate accommodation spend in China surging 278 per cent, according to new figures from serviced apartment specialist SilverDoor.
Business travellers heading to North America this summer look set to be the surprise winners of the FIFA World Cup 26, with initial price rises of up to 50 per cent in key host locations dropping to as little as 15 per cent as supply floods the market ahead of the tournament’s 11 June kick-off in Mexico.
The findings, published today in SilverDoor’s second Quarterly Market Update of 2026, show rates in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Dallas, Houston, Toronto and Mexico all standardising well below original forecasts — defying predictions of sky-high prices and sold-out cities. The shift will be welcome news for executives planning trips around the tournament, with 16 host cities across the USA, Canada and Mexico staging 104 matches over 39 days.
China demand surges on visa easing
The most striking growth, however, is in China, where corporate housing spend has jumped 278 per cent year on year, with nights booked up 166 per cent. SilverDoor attributes the surge to the easing of entry requirements, UK and Canadian nationals can now enter China visa-free for 30 days, alongside the newly introduced K visa, which grants global science and engineering graduates multiple 180-day stays over five years.
Enquiries for China were up 36 per cent year on year for the quarter, with rising online searches for Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Wuxi. Against a backdrop of rising oil prices, the country’s sustainable technology exports, including electric vehicles, are driving economic growth and larger group bookings from corporates, a trend SilverDoor expects to continue into 2027.
Elsewhere in APAC, India continues its remarkable run, with enquiries up 114 per cent and reservations up 457 per cent across the technology, BFSI and healthcare sectors. Supply is rising to meet demand, pushing average daily rates down, Bengaluru’s ADR has dropped 23 per cent year on year.
London bookings climb as Middle East enquiries dip
In EMEA, London recorded a 26 per cent increase in bookings as corporates invest in their presence in the capital and the return-to-office trend gathers pace. ADR in the city is up 11 per cent year on year and is expected to stay elevated through the peak summer months, with corporates advised to research locations and rates before committing budgets. Zurich bucked the trend, with ADR down 6 per cent, a fall expected to stimulate demand from travel and mobility programmes.
The Middle East crisis, however, has dented regional activity, with enquiries down 14 per cent year on year for Q2, echoing the disruption already reshaping UK SME travel budgets. Many Dubai-based corporates are now signalling a preference for relocating employees within the UAE, to smaller towns including Al Ain, Ras Al-Khaimah and Fujairah, rather than across borders.
Claire Barrie, chief commercial officer at SilverDoor, said the conditions shaping corporate travel, “oil price volatility, immigration backlogs, major sport tourism events, and workforce restructurings”, were influencing global demand patterns in interesting ways.
“Resilient programmes that are built to absorb this sort of disruption will pull ahead, and the competitive differentiator is usually how well-connected your supply chain is before a disrupter hits, not during it,” she said.
On the World Cup, Barrie added: “This quarter’s data reinforces that corporates who can hold their nerve where they can, be swift to react to inventory releases, and use late-stage negotiating power can secure better rates and value in high-demand markets. Businesses still keen to travel during the World Cup in host cities look set to be able to take advantage of the recent softening of corporate housing rates and should apply this blueprint to future major events like the LA28 Olympics.”
The report follows a busy period for SilverDoor, which recently unlocked thousands of extended-stay studios and suites through a global partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts.
