An Atlanta-based interior designer spent $60,000 renovating her three-bedroom home specifically for the FIFA World Cup. She listed it on Airbnb for $4,500 a week in July, triple her normal rate. As of June 2026, the property sits unbooked. She’s one of thousands of Airbnb hosts learning that Deloitte’s rosy $4,000-per-host projection and the reality of filling a listing are two different problems.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs June 11 through July 19 across 11 U.S. cities, plus venues in Canada and Mexico. For homeowners near stadiums, it’s a chance to turn a spare room or empty house into a six-week pop-up business. Airbnb is dangling a $750 bonus to first-time hosts who book a guest by July 31. Searches in host cities are up 80% year-over-year. The math looks good on paper.
But the gap between what hosts expect and what they’ll actually clear after Airbnb’s 15.5% service fee, cleaning costs, occupancy taxes, and insurance is the part nobody’s running for you. That changes here.
Last updated: June 2026
Quick answers
How much can you make on Airbnb during the World Cup 2026?
Deloitte projects the average U.S. host will earn about $4,000 gross ($262/night) during the June 11 to July 19 tournament. After Airbnb’s 15.5% fee, cleaning costs, and local taxes, expect to net roughly $2,400-$2,800. Earnings range from $5,700 per host in New York-NJ to $1,900 in Philadelphia.
Which World Cup host cities pay the most for Airbnb?
New York-NJ leads at $5,700 per host, followed by Boston ($5,200), Los Angeles ($5,100), Miami ($5,000), and Dallas ($4,400). Boston has the highest per-night rate at $339 and is already 63% booked for the opening weekend at an average of $453/night, per AirROI pacing data.
Is the Airbnb $750 new host offer worth it?
The $750 bonus adds roughly 19% on top of Deloitte’s $4,000 average projection. You must be a first-time host, list an entire home in an eligible host city, and complete a booking by July 31, 2026. The offer is not available in New York City. For hosts in high-earning markets, it’s a nice extra. For lower-earning markets, it could represent 25-40% of total net income.
How much do Airbnb hosts make during the World Cup?
Deloitte’s economic impact study, commissioned by Airbnb, projects $156 million in total U.S. host earnings and $212 million globally. The average comes to $4,000 per host across the 11 U.S. cities, assuming 60% occupancy during the event and a 90% price bump over normal summer rates.
Those numbers come with caveats worth reading carefully. The study was paid for by Airbnb, which has a direct interest in attracting new hosts before the tournament. The $4,000 figure assumes occupancy rates that, as of early June, only two cities are on track to hit. And it’s a gross number that doesn’t subtract the platform’s 15.5% cut, cleaning, local occupancy taxes (which run 6-18% depending on the city), or the cost of getting your place guest-ready.
That said, the demand signal is real. Airbnb says searches for host-city stays are up 80% year-over-year. AirROI’s booking pacing data shows group-stage demand has surged 200%+ above year-ago levels per AirDNA tracking. And FIFA’s cancellation of thousands of hotel room blocks, including 2,000 rooms in Philadelphia and 15,000 room-nights in Vancouver, has widened the accommodation gap that short-term rentals are positioned to fill.
The honest answer: some hosts will make $5,000+ this summer. Others will sit empty because they priced too high, listed too late, or picked a city where supply outstrips demand. Your outcome depends almost entirely on which city you’re in and how you price.
City-by-city earnings breakdown
The spread between the highest and lowest-earning host cities is nearly 3x. Where you live matters more than how nice your place is.
| City | Projected earnings/host | Per night | Matches | Current fill rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-NJ | $5,700 | $268 | 8 | 21-29% |
| Boston | $5,200 | $339 | 7 | 58-63% |
| Los Angeles | $5,100 | $305 | 8 | 16-17% |
| Miami | $5,000 | $255 | 7 | 20-29% |
| Dallas | $4,400 | $250 | 9 | 29-37% |
| Seattle | $3,800 | $303 | 6 | 30-62% |
| Atlanta | $3,700 | $209 | 8 | 15-21% |
| Kansas City | $3,500 | $233 | 6 | 42-49% |
| Houston | $3,000 | $257 | 7 | 16-23% |
| San Francisco | $3,000 | $282 | 6 | 20-23% |
| Philadelphia | $1,900 | $160 | 6 | 24-33% |
Sources: Deloitte economic impact study; AirROI booking pacing data as of late March 2026. Fill rates reflect bookings at time of data collection and will continue climbing.
Three patterns jump out. First, more matches doesn’t automatically mean more money. Dallas has the most matches (9) but projects less than Boston (7 matches) because Boston’s baseline accommodation costs are higher. Second, fill rates tell you where demand is actually converting, not just where people are searching. Boston and Kansas City are filling fast; Los Angeles and Atlanta are lagging. Third, the cities with the tightest supply, Kansas City (1,640 active listings) and Boston (3,470), show the strongest pricing power, with available-night rates climbing past $450.
Which World Cup cities pay the most for Airbnb?
New York-NJ leads Deloitte’s projections at $5,700 per host, but the real per-night earnings story belongs to Boston and Kansas City.
Boston’s $339/night Deloitte rate is the highest of any city, and AirROI’s real-time data shows it already performing above that: $447-$461 average nightly rates on booked listings for the June 13 opening weekend, with a 63% fill rate. Only 3,470 active listings serve a city hosting 7 matches. That’s tight supply meeting genuine demand.
Kansas City is the sleeper. Deloitte projects just $3,500 per host ($233/night), but AirROI pacing data tells a different story. Match-day average daily rates already hit $508, and the city has only 1,640 active listings, the smallest supply pool of any U.S. host city. Available-night rates for unbooked listings are priced at $665-$702, suggesting remaining inventory commands premium rates. KC could outperform its projection by a wide margin.
At the bottom, Philadelphia projects $1,900 per host ($160/night). But here’s the wrinkle: Philly has just 426 active short-term rental licenses for an expected 149,000 tournament visitors. That’s a 350-to-1 visitor-to-listing ratio, the tightest of any host city. Licensed hosts who price correctly could earn well above the average. The constraint isn’t demand. It’s that most prospective hosts can’t get a permit fast enough.
The real math: gross vs. net after fees
Every projection you’ve read so far is gross revenue. Here’s what actually eats into that $4,000 average.
Airbnb’s service fee: 15.5%. Since December 2025, all hosts worldwide pay a flat 15.5% fee on the booking subtotal (nightly rate plus cleaning fee plus any extras). On a $4,000 gross booking, that’s $620 going to Airbnb before you see a dollar.
Cleaning costs: $100-$300 per turnover. Professional cleaning for a tournament guest stay typically runs $150-$250 for a two-bedroom, more for larger properties. If you’re turning over guests every 3-4 days rather than hosting one longer stay, these add up fast. Budget two to four turnovers during the five-week tournament.
Local occupancy taxes: 6-18%. This is the expense most new hosts underestimate. Boston stacks state and local room taxes up to nearly 18%. Houston charges a 13% combined rate. Los Angeles collects a 14% Transient Occupancy Tax. Airbnb collects and remits these automatically in most cities, but they come out of your gross revenue, not on top of it.
Insurance: $200-$500 for a short-term policy. Standard homeowner’s insurance explicitly excludes commercial rental activity, per Proper Insurance. Hosting without proper coverage can void your entire policy. Airbnb’s AirCover isn’t a substitute for a dedicated short-term rental policy. Expect $200-$500 for a tournament-window endorsement.
The bottom line on a $4,000 gross booking:
- Airbnb fee (15.5%): -$620
- Occupancy tax (~12% avg): -$480
- Cleaning (2 turnovers): -$400
- Insurance endorsement: -$300
- Net to you: ~$2,200
That’s roughly 55% of the headline number. In higher-tax cities like Boston, the net drops further. In lower-tax, single-turnover situations, you might keep 65-70%. Either way, the $4,000 Deloitte figure isn’t what hits your bank account.
For founders thinking about this as a side hustle, the hourly math matters too. Between listing setup, guest communication, key handoff, cleaning coordination, and restocking, budget 15-25 hours of your time over the tournament window. On a $2,200 net, that’s $88-$147/hour. Not bad, but not the passive windfall some hosts imagine.
Is the Airbnb $750 World Cup host bonus worth it?
Airbnb’s $750 new-host incentive is the platform’s largest ever, and it’s designed to solve a specific problem: the company needs more entire-home inventory in host cities before June 11.
The eligibility requirements, per Airbnb’s official announcement, are straightforward. You must be a new host (no active listings before February 1, 2026), list an entire home in an eligible host-city ZIP code, and complete at least one reservation of $100+ before July 31, 2026. The $750 pays out through your default payout method within 45 days of the completed stay. Canadian hosts get $1,000 CAD instead.
The bonus is separate from booking revenue, so you collect both. On a $4,000 gross booking, the $750 represents a 19% bump. For hosts in Philadelphia ($1,900 projected gross) or Houston ($3,000), the bonus is a meaningful share of total income.
One major exclusion: New York City is not eligible due to Local Law 18, which prohibits unhosted short-term rentals under 30 days. Hosts in New Jersey near MetLife Stadium can still qualify. This creates the bizarre situation where the World Cup’s biggest venue has no Airbnb incentive in the nearest major city.
Is the bonus alone worth the hassle of becoming a first-time host? Probably not. But combined with projected tournament earnings, the total package makes a compelling case for homeowners who were already considering listing. The bonus works best as a tipping point, not a standalone reason.
What the “no windfall” data actually says
A Yahoo Finance investigation published a report titled “There’s been no World Cup windfall for Airbnb” that complicated the optimistic narrative. The findings are worth understanding before you list.
The core issue: many hosts overpriced their properties and are sitting empty. One key finding noted that only about 1% of properties will command the $6,000-a-night rates that Fortune reported on. For the majority, that kind of pricing isn’t realistic. The article documented hosts who tripled their rates without adjusting to local market conditions, invested heavily in renovations expecting guaranteed returns, and are now scrambling to fill empty calendars.
Several factors are dampening demand below initial projections. The tournament’s vast geography, spanning from Vancouver to Mexico City, forces fans to fly between matches rather than staying in one city. Steep ticket prices, with group-stage seats running several hundred dollars and premium final seats listed at $25,000, are keeping some fans away entirely. Visa complications and geopolitical tensions have reduced international travel projections. FIFA’s cancellation of up to 70% of hotel blocks in some cities signals even the organizer is hedging expectations.
Boston stands out as the exception. At 63% fill and $453/night average, it’s the only city where early data matches the optimistic projections. Most other cities sit below 30% with two weeks until kickoff.
The lesson for prospective hosts: price to your local market, not to the headline projections. Look at what’s actually booked (not what’s listed) in your neighborhood on Airbnb, and price 10-15% below the available average to drive bookings. A filled listing at $300/night beats an empty one at $500.
The NYC paradox: a World Cup final with no Airbnb
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, hosts eight matches, including both semifinals and the World Cup final on July 19. It’s the single biggest sporting event on the planet this decade. And the nearest major city has effectively banned Airbnb.
New York City’s Local Law 18, enacted in September 2023, requires hosts to register with the city, be present during every stay, and limits rentals to two guests. In practice, it’s killed the short-term rental market in NYC. NYC rejected Airbnb’s bid to lift restrictions for the tournament.
The overflow is already showing up in the data. Jersey City (1,795 active listings) and Newark (1,871 listings) are absorbing demand that NYC can’t accommodate. AirROI data shows Jersey City pacing at 21-29% fill during the tournament window, with available rates of $430-$493/night.
AirDNA projects a 296% occupancy jump in the NJ/MetLife area on June 27 for the England vs. Panama match. That’s a group-stage game. The final will dwarf it. A property in Jersey City’s waterfront district priced at $400-$500/night for the final weekend could generate $2,000-$3,000 from a single four-night stay.
For NJ hosts within transit distance of MetLife, this may be the largest short-term rental earning opportunity in the platform’s history. The regulatory moat around NYC isn’t a bug for New Jersey hosts. It’s a feature.
Who should actually do this
Treat this like any other side hustle opportunity: run the unit economics before committing your time and money.
List if: You own a home (not a rented apartment) in a host city, particularly Boston, Kansas City, Dallas, or the NJ/MetLife corridor. You can list an entire home, not just a room. You’re willing to price at or slightly below booked-market rates to actually fill dates. You already have or can quickly obtain an STR permit in your city. And you understand this is a six-week project, not a set-it-and-forget-it income stream.
Skip if: You’d need to spend more than $2,000 getting your place guest-ready (the payoff timeline doesn’t support it for a single event). You’re in a high-supply, low-fill city like LA, Atlanta, or Houston where 14,000+ listings compete for the same guests. Your HOA or lease prohibits short-term rentals. Or you’re pricing based on the $6,000/night Fortune headlines rather than what’s actually booking in your neighborhood.
The hosts who’ll make real money this summer aren’t the ones chasing viral price tags. They’re the ones who listed early, priced to book, and treated their spare room like what it is: a short-run business with real costs and a hard deadline.
For more ways to capitalize on the tournament, check out GJ’s guide on how to become a World Cup 2026 vendor and our broader breakdown of how many income streams creators are running in 2026.
