2026 World Cup numbers: Did Houston see an economic boom?

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The 2026 World Cup comes to an end this weekend, with Spain taking on either England or Argentina.

Houston is done hosting our seven matches. And now, we're finally getting our first hard numbers, showing just how many people came to our city for the World Cup, but results seem to be mixed.

"The Netherlands for sure, it was a big crowd," said Rico Fernandino, an assistant manager of The Pit Room, a BBQ restaurant with locations in Montrose and the Memorial area.

The famous Dutch orange bus stopped at the restaurant, and the owner said, fans drank this place out of another iconic Dutch export: Heineken.

According to the owner, both The Pit Room and another he owns, the Tex-Mex Cadente, saw a 30 to 50% increase in sales this year compared to last year, with tourists excited to try our local flavor.

"People just wanted to see the big rib just to take a picture of it, but once they saw it, they ended up buying a whole big rib for themselves," said Fernandino.

We haven't heard the same excitement from all restaurants, though.

The owners of Koffeteria bakery and café in EADO say sales are way down due to road closures and traffic around the Fan Festival.

Results are also mixed when it comes to hotels.

Houston First Corporation, which uses both taxpayer funds and private donations to market our city, released numbers Tuesday from the first two weeks of the World Cup.

It turns out fewer people than usual stayed in Houston hotels, but those who did paid more.

According to Houston First, hotel occupancy in Houston was down nearly 2% in June compared to last year.

The average daily rate for hotels, though, was up 16%

Occupancy at short-term rentals, like Airbnbs, was also down 2%, while prices were up nearly 40%.

"When you have Super Bowl or Final Four, usually the day after they announce, you have no rooms to sell. In this, we were not even close to that." Explained Emre Ozsut, the Regional Director of Sales at The Lancaster Hotel downtown.

Ozsut said the World Cup brought fewer guests than he expected and an obsession he didn't see coming.

"Everyone ordered a side of ranch, and at one point, our chef was like, 'What is going on? Why is everyone ordering a side of ranch?' I guess it was their first time trying it, and they really enjoyed it. And Texas beer was very popular. Everybody was asking for it, especially guests from Holland; they were big fans of the Shiner," he said.