The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs June 11 through July 19 across eleven U.S. cities, with 78 matches and an estimated five million international visitors competing for places to stay. It's not a stretch to say this is the greatest opportunity for American short-term rental owners since the industry was invented.
A Deloitte study commissioned by Airbnb projects hosts in World Cup cities will earn $4,000 on average during the tournament. In New York and New Jersey, that number climbs to $5,700. Fortune reports nightly rates already topping $6,000 near MetLife Stadium; one Princeton listing is going for roughly 140% above what it normally charges. Across all host cities, Airbnb estimates $156 million in total host earnings.
If you own a rental property anywhere near a host city, the opportunity is obvious. But landlords who jump in without preparation risk fines, denied insurance claims, and property damage they can't recover from. The ones who actually pocket those Deloitte numbers are handling four things right now, well before the first whistle.
1. Know your city's short-term rental rules
More landlords get tripped up here than anywhere else, and the consequences are steeper than most people expect. Every World Cup host city has its own short-term rental regulations, and they vary wildly from one zip code to the next.
Los Angeles requires you to register with the county as a short-term rental operator and obtain a home-sharing permit before you can list. New Jersey is a patchwork; outside of Hoboken, most municipalities have strict limits on short-term rentals, and some ban them outright. The Dallas-Fort Worth area requires its own set of permits depending on which side of the Metroplex your property sits on. Seattle mandates both a short-term rental operator license and a city business license. Atlanta won't let you host at all unless you're a city resident with a valid STR license.
Same story in Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Kansas City, and Miami: each has licensing requirements, registration fees, occupancy limits, and tax obligations specific to short-term rentals. Some of these permits take 30 to 90 days to process. If you haven't started, you're behind.
Enforcement isn't constant. Cities crank up code enforcement around major events. Inspectors who might look the other way on an unlicensed rental in a normal month are actively hunting violations when the World Cup comes through town. Fines range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the jurisdiction, and some cities can shut you down mid-tournament. Nobody wants that call after they've already accepted bookings and blocked off their calendar.
2. Upgrade your insurance before your first booking
If there's one line item that costs unprepared landlords the most money, it's this one. And it's the thing almost nobody thinks about until a claim gets denied.
Standard landlord insurance policies are built for long-term tenants. They cover the building, your liability as a property owner, and lost rental income if the property becomes uninhabitable. What they don't cover, almost without exception, is short-term rental activity. The moment you list your property on Airbnb or VRBO for World Cup guests, your traditional policy likely stops responding to claims.
Guest-caused damage is explicitly excluded from most landlord and homeowners policies because of something insurers call "property entrustment." Once you voluntarily hand your property to a short-term guest, the insurer treats that as a business risk you've assumed yourself. A landlord charging $2,000 a night for a place near SoFi Stadium could face tens of thousands in uncovered losses from a single incident.
Now think about who your guests will be. International fans, groups celebrating (or drowning their sorrows) through a six-week tournament during peak summer. Alcohol, large groups, high energy. Your liability risk goes up compared to a routine Airbnb booking. If someone gets injured on your property and your policy doesn't cover STR activity, you're personally exposed.
The fix itself isn't complicated; it just takes lead time. Review your coverage at least 60 to 90 days before your first booking, which at this point means now. That window gives you time to either add a short-term rental endorsement or switch to a policy that actually covers STRs. You want coverage for guest-caused property damage, liability for guest injuries, and lost rental income if something forces you to cancel bookings mid-tournament. Landlords in California, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and New York should also check for state-specific requirements that stack on top of the base policy. Don't assume your current coverage stretches this far; call your insurer and ask point-blank.
3. Get the property guest-ready
A World Cup rental isn't a standard Airbnb stay. Your guests aren't comparing you to the Marriott down the street; they're comparing you to every other listing within driving distance of the stadium. And during a tournament this size, those listings are competing hard.
Start with a deep professional clean. Not your usual turnover wipe-down. Carpets, upholstery, windows, kitchen appliances. Then stage the space so it feels intentional and well-maintained. It doesn't need to look like an interior design portfolio, but it can't look like a rental that's been between tenants for two weeks. Professional photos make a real difference; listings with good photography book faster and at higher nightly rates across the board.
For World Cup guests specifically, certain amenities carry more weight than usual:
- Fast, reliable Wi-Fi (guests will be streaming and video-calling nonstop)
- A smart TV with major streaming apps so guests can watch other matches from the couch
- Air conditioning that works well, since the tournament runs through peak summer heat
- Parking or clear transit directions to the nearest venue
- A kitchen stocked with basic cookware, dishes, and a coffee setup
- Extra linens and towels
Because this is an international event, consider your non-English-speaking guests. House rules translated into Spanish and Portuguese go a long way. (Be sure to check the match schedule; if you're close to a France match, assume your guests speak French.) A printed transit guide to the stadium, with landmarks and estimated travel times, is the kind of detail that earns five-star reviews and gets your listing bookmarked for the next round of matches.
One thing most landlords skip entirely: documenting the property's condition before the first guest walks in. Walk every room with your phone. Timestamped photos and video of walls, floors, appliances, furniture, fixtures. This is your evidence if you need to file a damage claim or withhold a security deposit. And you should absolutely be collecting security deposits for World Cup bookings. $500 to $1,000 is the going rate across host city listings right now. Do the same walkthrough after each checkout.
4. Price it right based on the match schedule
Flat-rate pricing during the World Cup leaves money on the table. The tournament has distinct phases, and demand shifts based on which teams are playing and what's at stake in the bracket.
During the group stage (June 11 through June 27), set your baseline at 2x to 3x your normal nightly rate. Properties within 30 minutes of a stadium can push toward 3x to 4x. Once knockout rounds start, rates climb to 3x to 5x. For the semifinals and final, properties in the New York and New Jersey area (MetLife Stadium hosts the final) are already listing at 5x to 10x above their normal rate. Earlier rounds give you volume; later rounds give you per-night premiums.
Minimum stay requirements help too. Three to five nights during the group stage, seven to ten nights during knockout rounds and beyond. Turnover is expensive when you're operating at this pace, and longer minimums tend to attract more serious guests.
List on multiple platforms. Airbnb dominates, but Vrbo and Booking.com pull real international traffic, and World Cup travelers skew heavily international. If you're new to Airbnb, there's a concrete incentive right now: Airbnb is offering a $750 bonus to first-time hosts who list an entire home in a World Cup host city and complete a reservation by July 31.
One angle that most landlords miss completely: if you rent your property for 14 days or fewer in a calendar year, the income is tax-free under the Augusta Rule. At $2,000 to $5,000 a night, 14 days of untaxed income is a serious number. Worth structuring your bookings around if you're near that threshold.
The World Cup is less than two months out. Permits take weeks to process, insurance changes need lead time, and booking windows are filling up. Landlords who square away permits, insurance, property prep, and pricing before June are the ones who'll actually pocket those projected returns. Winging it once the tournament starts is how you end up with a $3,000 fine and a denied claim on the same weekend.
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