Airbnb is offering a $750 sign-on incentive to attract new entire-home hosts in the 16 North American cities that will host matches for the FIFA World Cup in mid-2026. The payment will be issued to new hosts who complete their first guest stay between now and July 31, the company said, and Airbnb described the program as its largest-ever incentive for new hosts.
The announcement arrives amid intense consumer interest in the tournament. FIFA reported more than 500 million ticket requests submitted during a 33-day application window, underscoring the scale of demand for seats at the mid-2026 event.
Short-term rental markets in host cities are already showing strong price movement tied to match schedules. Travel data firm AirDNA found that on match days vacation rental rates can be as much as 50% higher than a year earlier in some host cities. Airbnb highlighted three U.S. markets where it expects hosts to see the largest gains during the tournament: the New York-New Jersey area, Boston and Los Angeles. The company projects per-host earnings above $5,000 in each of those markets.
Beyond the three host nations for the event, FIFA reported the largest volumes of ticket applications came from residents of Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia. The broad international interest could intersect with lodging demand in host cities during the tournament period.
The World Cup arrives against a backdrop of weaker international visitor flows to the United States. The U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office reported that U.S. international inbound travel demand was down 5.4% through November 2025. Airbnb and other industry participants have suggested the tournament could provide a boost to those inbound numbers, though the scale and distribution of any uplift are not quantified in the company statement.
Under the incentive program, hosts must list an entire home and successfully host their first guest stay within the eligibility window that ends July 31 to receive the $750 payment. Airbnb framed the offer as a targeted effort to increase available listings in cities expecting millions of additional visitors during the World Cup period.
The companys projections for per-host earnings in specific markets and the broader data on ticket and pricing trends provide a snapshot of heightened commercial activity around the tournament, while government travel statistics indicate there is room for international arrivals to recover.