Crowds Return For Euros Tournament, But Hotels Report Fewer Bookings Than Normal

The UEFA European Soccer Championships, better known as the Euros, is the first major crowed-attended, international event to be staged across Europe as the continent emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Numerous pandemic restrictions remain in place across Europe, including strict quarantine procedures, that make it difficult for the cross-border travel that is typical for the event. Matches such as England's game against Ukraine held in Rome that would typically mean a boom for hotel performance are sparking a relatively muted performance boost, according to data from CoStar's hospitality analytics firm STR.

London’s Wembley Stadium, traditionally the home of the England national team, has hosted six England games so far and is set to host the semifinal on July 7 and final on July 11.

Its fifth hosted match, on June 29, saw more than 40,000 attendees watch England beat Germany 2-0, the first time England have beaten Germany in a major soccer tournament for almost 55 years.

According to STR, within a three-mile radius of the stadium, occupancy for the night of that game reached 68.2%.

Hotel demand is noticeably higher than what an urban market like London has seen since the onset of the pandemic, but hoteliers in the city say it's still a far cry from the massive demand spikes they would have seen in more typical circumstances.