Philly hotels still waiting for World Cup booking boost

The big picture: World Cup host cities in the U.S. are facing headwinds that may be dampening international travel demand, including visa uncertainty and higher airfares due to rising prices for jet fuel, per the American Hotel & Lodging Association's recent member survey report.

State of play: Roughly 75% of the survey's Philadelphia-area respondents said bookings were below expectations and behind a typical summer.

Catch up quick: FIFA recently canceled roughly 2,000 hotel bookings in Philly, the bulk of which were in a handful of Center City hotels.

• FIFA canceled rooms in several other U.S. host cities as well.

Zoom out: Close to 80% of all survey respondents say bookings are tracking below initial forecasts, including in Boston, San Francisco and Seattle.

Zoom in: The report noted that Philly's proposed 2% increase in the hotel tax would threaten the full economic benefit of the World Cup in the city, leading to job losses and fewer bookings.

The other side: Mayor Cherelle Parker has pitched the hotel tax increase as a way to fund more shelter beds to reduce homelessness in Philly.

Worth noting: The hotel association is the largest of its kind in the U.S., with more than 30,000 members.

Go deeper: Read the full report.