You still could have the Loews presidential suite – the priciest hotel room in North Texas during the FIFA World Cup, running $15,000 to $20,000 a night – because it’s not completely booked, even as Arlington’s hotel demand begins to climb.
Stephen Cummings, complex managing director for Loews Hotels, said the suite has not been booked for the entire World Cup. He expects that to change. The room is typically booked for all Dallas Cowboys home games, he said.
The early pitch for the tournament was bold: hosting nine World Cup matches in Arlington would be like staging nine Super Bowls. But with 16 host cities spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the expected crush of travelers has been spread out.
Expectations meet regional reality
“We had heard the projections that with nine matches, that meant nine Super Bowls,” said Brent DeRaad, president and CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. “That may not, you know, certainly be the case here. It’s not going to be 31 days of full hotels at astronomical rates.”…