How do sporting and cultural events affect serviced accommodation?

2 Apr 2026 | Icon Stay

The price and availability of serviced accommodation is highly dependent on seasonality and events happening in that location. Major events bring thousands of additional tourists or business travellers to the city, all requiring accommodation for a number of nights. Here’s how it might affect your service accommodation bookings.

Impact on serviced accommodation

  • Increased demand: One of the main impacts of events on serviced accommodation is a surge in demand. Hotels often sell out early, meaning overflow demand shifts to serviced accommodation.
  • Faster decisions: Due to higher demand, it’s likely that you will need to book early and make quick decisions on selecting accommodation to avoid disappointment.
  • Increased prices: Also due to higher demand, accommodation providers often charge significantly higher nightly rates in the days around these events.
  • Geographic spillover: Nearby towns and cities with strong transport connections also tend to see a high increase in demand. So even if you’re not looking for accommodation in a host city, neighbouring areas may also be affected.
  • Temporary properties: Some property owners may enter the market short-term to profit from the temporary increase in demand. The quality of these properties is often unverified, so you should be cautious about choosing these properties.

Events you should be aware of

Being aware of major events happening in your top destinations is key for strategic planning and budgeting. If you’re planning on relocating employees to major cities this summer, you should be aware of the following events.

Major global sporting events

Asian Beach Games (22 – 30 April 2026)

  • Multi-sport event with athletes and spectators from across Asia.
  • Sanya, China

IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship (15 – 31 May 2026)

  • Top international men’s hockey competition.
  • Zurich & Fribourg, Switzerland

FIFA World Cup 2026 (11 June – 19 July 2026)

  • The biggest global sport tournament, with 48 national football teams competing.
  • Hosted in various cities across United States (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area), Canada (Toronto, Vancouver) and Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey).
  • Final: 19 July 2026 at MetLife Stadium (New Jersey, near New York)

Tour de France (4 – 26 July)

  • The world’s premier cycling race
  • Hosted in various locations from Spain to France, ending up in Paris
  • Final stage: 24 July 2026 finishing in Paris Champs Elysées

Commonwealth Games (23 July – 2 August 2026)

  • International sporting event between Commonwealth countries
  • Glasgow, Scotland

Mediterranean Games (21 August – 3 September 2026)

  • Regional multi-sport event attracting crowds across Mediterranean countries.
  • Taranto, Italy

FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup (4 – 13 September 2026)

  • Flagship global championship for women’s national basketball teams.
  • Berlin, Germany

Cultural and music events

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (10 – 12 April; 17 – 19 April 2026)

  • Major global music festival with international artists over two weekends.
  • Indio, California, USA

Songkran Water Festival (13 – 15 April 2026)

  • Major holiday attracting international visitors and large public participation.
  • Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket)

Eurovision Song Contest (12 – 16 May 2026)

  • One of the largest music broadcasts globally.
  • Vienna, Austria
  • Semi-finals: 12 & 14 May
  • Grand Final: 16 May

World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) Glasgow (3 – 4 July 2026)

  • International cultural music festival attracting large crowds
  • Glasgow, Scotland

Edinburgh Fringe Festival (7 – 31 August 2026)

  • The world’s biggest arts festival, drawing global performers and audiences
  • Edinburgh, Scotland

Oktoberfest (19 September – 4 October 2026)

  • World’s largest folk festival – regularly pulls millions of visitors.
  • Munich, Germany

 

This is not an exhaustive list of events but a guide to some of the key events happening worldwide.

If you are interested in our Icon Stay accommodation options, contact us to find out the options we can source for you.

 

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