The World Cup is coming: What it means for short-term rentals and housing availability

In 2026, Kansas City will host six World Cup soccer matches. Approximately 650,000 fans, teams and media from around the world will need somewhere to stay — at hotels, with friends of friends or at short-term rentals (STRs). While the eight-week sporting event will test the region's housing market in ways Kansas City has not seen previously, it will help local leaders better understand how the housing system responds to unusual surges in demand and how to prepare for future events.

Across mid-sized regions like Kansas City, STR activity has grown steadily in recent years. Previous analysis conducted by the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) found that STRs are among several factors shaping the housing market for both owners and renters. Cities throughout the region continue to assess how this segment fits within broader housing and tourism strategies.

The World Cup provides a rare, measurable case study in assessing how the region’s housing system responds to temporary, concentrated demand. Tracking current conditions and changes over time will help local governments and regional partners understand how prices adjust, where pressures concentrate and whether STR supply stabilizes or declines once the event concludes.

What's changing: The World Cup effect

MARC collects data from the online booking platform Airbnb on short-term rental listings each quarter leading up to the World Cup to show how supply, pricing and types of units change throughout the metropolitan area. Although the matches take place over a five-week period (June 11–July 19, 2026), data is pulled for an eight-week window from June to July to capture early arrivals and late stays that also affect housing demand.

As of October 2025, Airbnb’s three-month outlook revealed 1,298 short-term rentals available across MARC’s nine-county region, compared to next year’s World Cup window that showed 1,002 bookable listings. Data from the two timeframes indicates median nightly rates rose about 20% from $257 to $304, while the share of entire-unit listings, those where the occupant has exclusive access to the entire property, with no shared spaces or hosts on-site, remained steady near 76%.

This pattern suggests hosts are adjusting prices rather than adding new listings.

Short-term rental patterns

Current patterns reveal where most short-term rental activity is concentrated and what that means for the broader housing picture.

Supply and type

About three-quarters of active short-term rentals are entire units, a category that can have a greater effect on overall housing availability than private rooms within occupied units. Entire-unit listings are distributed more evenly across the region, while private-room listings are concentrated in core cities with denser housing and fewer single-family homes.

Purple shows entire units. Orange shows private rooms within occupied units.

Pricing patterns

The top 10 short-term rental locations see median nightly rates double from the current regional median price of $257 for STRs to nearly $500 during World Cup events. While these are listing prices rather than realized revenue, the prices signal geographic variation where hosts see demand and opportunity. Comparing STR prices with local rent levels indicates how short-term demand can amplify affordability pressures, especially near major venues and along key corridors.

Figure 3. Median nightly prices and share of entire-home listings

Housing context

What matters for housing availability isn't how much individual hosts earn, but how many units leave the long-term market. According to the latest American Community Survey, median rents rose roughly 25% to 30% across the region last year, a signal of tightening housing demand. While STRs represent a small share of total housing, persistent conversions can limit the number of units available to residents after the event.

Figure 4: Estimated monthly median rent by city

Key questions this analysis will attempt to answer

With baseline rental patterns established, the World Cup becomes an opportunity to answer questions that matter for long-term planning. 

Housing supply and market response

• How much housing supply responds to temporary demand surges?
• What tools or other strategies can be used to balance tourism and housing stability?

Short-term rental patterns to track

• How many housing units converted to STRs return to long-term housing markets afterward?
• Will these short-term rental patterns overlap with affordability or infrastructure concerns?

Why it matters

Hosting next year’s World Cup provides a rare opportunity to observe how housing markets respond and adapt to demand in real time. By tracking listings, prices and spatial patterns, before, during and after the event, MARC and its partners can help local governments understand how the housing market responds to large-scale events and prepare for future shocks - whether they come from tourism, population growth or economic change.

Looking ahead

This analysis supports the Regional Housing Partnership and will inform the coalition’s ongoing work in developing effective housing strategies and strengthening the region’s housing resilience. Data gathered through 2026 will help local governments align zoning, permitting and investment strategies to ensure that short-term demand surges don’t create long-term affordability gaps.