BBC coverage of World Cup. Between ICE raids, wars-of-choice and general fascist police state conduct of the Trump admin, people may not be lining up to come to the US for the World Cup. FIFA's avarice has not helped either:
The World Cup was supposed to provide a tourism boom for the US, but now the fear is it may never materialise.A report, external produced by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has found that bookings are well below expectations in almost every host city.
The AHLA said this does not align with Fifa's statement that more than five million tickets have been sold and it creates a risk that "the anticipated economic lift may fall short".
The AHLA is the largest hotel association in the US, representing more than 32,000 properties and over 80% of all franchised hotels.
Its report partially puts the blame at the door of Fifa, accusing world football's governing body of block-booking far too many rooms for its own use and creating false demand.
This, the AHLA said, led to artificially high pricing which, after Fifa cancelled a large number of rooms, has been replaced by a vacuum of availability.
Fifa said it does not recognise this accusation.
Hotels said high match ticket pricing, local transport and tax costs, and the political backdrop have put visitors off.
For the hotels, this World Cup could fall flat.
A study commissioned by Fifa released last year, predicted that in the US the World Cup could create 185,000 jobs, adding $17.2bn (£12.7bn) in gross domestic product.
The hotels were planning for an influx of international travellers, who book longer stays with a higher spend.
But the AHLA said fewer overseas fans "threatens the broader economic impact" with just over three weeks until the opening game on 11 June.
The AHLA said the large-scale bookings made by Fifa in all cities "shaped revenue forecasts, staffing plans and preparations".
It said this booking policy "manufactured artificial demand" and masked the fact that tourist flow is going to be lower than predicted.
Up to 70% of rooms reserved by Fifa in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle have been cancelled, the AHLA said.