After some initial uncertainty about hotel room and accommodations availability for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar, preliminary data shows bookings are increasing in anticipation of the global soccer tournament.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar begins Nov. 20 and will conclude Dec. 18. At just 4,471 square miles — or 11,581 square kilometers — Qatar is one of the smallest nations to ever host the World Cup. As a result, the tournament will be played at eight different stadiums in and around Qatar's capital, Doha, with hotel demand concentrated nearby.

In contrast to past World Cups, entrance into Qatar will be limited to tournament ticket holders, who will also have priority to book hotel rooms. In September, Hotel News Now's Terence Baker reported that fans were still awaiting approval to book hotel rooms for the Qatar World Cup.

"Everything is connected to the ticket," said Philip Wooller, area director for the Middle East and Africa at STR, CoStar’s hotel analytics firm. "Entry into Qatar is limited to ticket holders. Once you have one, you can apply for a Hayya [credit] card, which gives access to accommodation.”

Officials with the Qatari government have been leery about an oversupply of hotel rooms once the World Cup concludes, which has been the case with development booms in previous host cities of events like the World Cup or the Olympics. Baker reported that Qatar has approximately 40,000 hotel rooms in its existing supply and pipeline, but an additional 60,000 rooms in private villas, apartments, cruise ships and temporary tented camps will be used as accommodations for World Cup attendees. France-based hotel company Accor will manage the operations of the additional accommodation.

According to Forward STAR data from STR, Qatar hotel bookings data as of mid-October showed that occupancy on the books during the World Cup is on average about 70% from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 and no lower than 53%. Cameron Spence, data operations manager at STR, writes for STR's Data Insights blog that peak occupancy during the tournament is at 83% on Nov. 26.

Pre-pandemic, hotels in Qatar reported occupancy ranged between 65% and 86%, so it is likely that World Cup demand could push hotel occupancy in the country even higher.

Major sporting events around the world give hoteliers in host markets significant opportunities to capture higher nightly room rates. Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup between June 14 and July 15 with stadiums in 11 different cities, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Kaliningrad and others. During the tournament, Moscow's hotel average daily rate reached $444.01 at its peak and at its lowest was still $265.44, Spence writes. The following year, Moscow hotel ADR was only $115.70.

In Qatar, hotel ADR is starting at a higher level before the World Cup even kicks off, Spence writes. Through September, ADR was 421.74 Qatari riyals ($115.86), about 14.6% higher than the same nine months in 2019.

Beyond Qatar, the World Cup is likely to increase demand in neighboring cities in other countries. Baker reported in September that shuttle flights to Qatar are scheduled from Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates; Saudi Arabian cities Jeddah and Riyadh; Muscat, Oman; and Kuwait.

Varun Ahuja, a cluster director of sales at Marriott International based in Dubai, told Baker in September that there is evidence of much higher demand for rooms across the Emirates in anticipation of the Qatar World Cup. His Aloft Dubai South property is preparing to be quite busy since it is located at Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport.

“We are already seeing a surge in bookings for November from ticket holders," Ahuja said. "We expect demand for accommodation to spike again this month. The hotel has confirmed bookings from transient individuals and fan groups, mainly coming from Latin America, the United Kingdom and Germany. We have two big groups with 15 and 20 rooms booked, respectively, to stay at our hotel during the group stages."

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