Winning strategies for making the most of mega sporting events
By Cathleen Draper
By the time the final whistle blew on Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, CA, one thing was certain: Mega sporting events don’t just arrive for a weekend – they reshape entire markets long before the first fan checks in.
From the NBA All-Star Weekend and the MLB World Series, major sporting events are a standard part of business for hotels in large markets across the U.S. But the frequency of these events in the country is only accelerating.
In 2026, the FIFA World Cup will unfold across 11 U.S. cities, bringing with it a global audience, longer average lengths of stay, and demand patterns unlike traditional sporting events. As opposed to the Super Bowl’s single-host-city model, the World Cup stretches across weeks and regions, requiring hotels to think beyond peak nights and into sustained operational endurance.
Just two years later, Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, bringing millions of visitors to the City of Angels for more than two weeks. The U.S. is also expected to host the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. And in 2034, the Winter Olympics will return to the U.S. in Utah, a market already saturated with seasonal tourists.
For hotels, preparation means thinking years ahead – not just about how to survive the surge, but how to turn these moments into gains that last long after the crowds have gone home.
Let the Games Begin
When a major event comes to town, it’s far from business as usual for hotel owners and operators. Typically, for one-off events such as the Super Bowl, hotels will see a jump in business during the days leading up, and a sharp drop off immediately after. Plus, routine travel slows down, as tourists hope to avoid the crowds.
“The net effect is that occupancy may experience some improvement – limited to the area immediately around the venue – but the ADR will see a notably bigger bump with a wider footprint,” explained Cindy Estis Green, CEO and co-founder of Kalibri, which powers hotel profitability with data-driven insights.
For events that occur over a period of time, such as the Olympics, an extended stay pattern emerges. Hotels will reap the benefits before, during, and after the event, and “there may be more life for occupancy,” Estis Green continued.
“But there will still be more clusters of demand around the peak event periods in the range,” she said.
Kalibri’s data shows that traditional group and corporate business also slows down around an event. Meanwhile, hotels in the immediate submarket will see a spike in bookings from groups such as corporate sponsors, journalists, and broadcast crews.
Historical data like that which Kalibri offers is essential for hotels to prepare. According to James Echert, principal product marketing manager at IDeaS, the specific event may change, but the demand patterns do not.
“What we see around these events is the triggers that result in demand spikes – and your opportunities to raise or drop rates – are lightning quick,” Echert said. “You need systems that can respond in real time, as opposed to waiting for the next revenue meeting.”
Forecasting, Echert explained, becomes both more complex and more critical in these scenarios. Hotels need to model unconstrained demand and be prepared to adjust as new information emerges. For hoteliers, having a system that can assess the available demand out there and determine which is right for their hotel to maximize profitability, not just rate, is key.
“Every hotel is probably going to sell out,” he said. “How do you protect and maximize your revenue during that time?”
Just as important, he cautioned against fixating on peak-night rates alone. Hotels should set their sights on maximizing revenue on the shoulder dates that build up to an event, not just on the one- to-two-night stay. That often means prioritizing length of stay at the start.
“The hotels that can maximize those four or five nights are the ones that usually come out on top and are feeling pretty, and their owners are the happiest,” Echert said.
Those principles shaped how hotels near Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, approached the most recent Super Bowl. At Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, preparations began the moment the game was officially confirmed.
“From the outset, our priorities centered on ensuring operational readiness, strengthening infrastructure, and aligning resources to meet the scale of the event,” said Melissa Belluomini, director of sales, marketing, and events at the property. Early planning allowed the hotel to look beyond room nights and focus on staffing models, leadership coverage, and coordination with local partners.
Hilton Santa Clara followed a similarly proactive path. Roughly eight months out, the team began aligning on rate strategy, group buildup, and inventory controls. “Securing the available inventory was a top priority,” said Kunal Khandwala, director of sales and marketing. With demand expected to far outstrip supply, the hotel focused on ensuring that pricing strategy and service delivery remained tightly aligned.
From Echert’s vantage point, those early months are when hotels should be building a foundation that gives them flexibility later.
“There’s two waves of demand that are going to wash over you,” he said. “The first wave is when the host city is announced, and that is going to be more of a gradual buildup.”
That’s where the opportunity lies for hotels to implement length of stay controls, especially because groups associated with the event, such as broadcast crews, sponsors, organizers, and corporate groups, start to book. That’s also when hoteliers must focus on protecting their revenue.
“Fundamentals like minimum lengths of stay to avoid occupancy spikes and offering non-refundable bookings or strict cancellation policies will mitigate the loss of business from those who might book multiple locations hoping to cancel if rates drop off closer to the event,” Estis Green said.
Technology plays a crucial role in knowing when, and how, to pivot. Hoteliers should monitor booking velocity rather than waiting for occupancy thresholds to be crossed.
“The nuance of it is not waiting for volume of pickup; it’s about velocity of pickup,” Echert said. If within one hour, your hotel gains 15 rooms – and that’s out of your norm – that’s indicative of a surge. Hoteliers, he continued, need to be prepared to respond immediately.
“Speed is at a premium opposed to precision,” Echert said. “Having access to real-time data is key for revenue managers around this time.”
Automation helps bridge that gap, particularly when news breaks outside regular business hours. Echert pointed to alerting systems and automated controls that temporarily apply “surge-protectors” – length-of-stay requirements or inventory restrictions when demand spikes unexpectedly.
Those safety nets protect revenue until a revenue manager can step in, wrap their mind around exactly what’s going on, and make more informed decisions. And automation has its place long after initial surges – systems that can analyze the big picture, assess trends, and determine when a switch from maximizing length-of-stay to maximizing ADR should occur are essential for busy staff.
“Making those decisions every day for a revenue manager is really hard,” Echert said. “Having some automation behind the scenes that empowers you to do that and then allows you to tinker and tweak as you need is the secret sauce to maximizing revenue.”
The team at Hyatt Regency Santa Clara managed their rate strategy and inventory by closely monitoring historical trends and booking pace. They did this through a suite of analytical tools that allowed them to monitor demand patterns and adjust in real time. “This approach allowed us to remain flexible and responsive, ensuring we were well-positioned to meet demand leading up the event,” Belluomini said.
On the operational side, Hyatt Regency Santa Clara reinforced staffing levels and brought in experienced managers from neighboring properties to support associates during peak periods. Belluomini said those decisions helped “maintain exceptional service standards, provide strong on-the-ground support, and deliver a consistent guest experience.”
The Second Wave
As demand intensifies closer to the event, Echert noted that a second wave often emerges – driven by attendees booking shorter, higher-priced stays. That dynamic is common across many mega sporting events, particularly once schedules, matchups, or programming details are finalized.
“You’re going to start seeing surges and bookings from fans of those teams, and that is the time that you typically see the premium ADRs,” Echert said. “They’re going to stay for two to three days, and that is the opportunity for you to make sure that you have your rates set.”
Cancellations are another universal challenge. Echert pointed out that guest plans often change once final details are confirmed, making it essential to anticipate wash and plan accordingly. Strategic overbooking, informed by historical patterns, can help hotels stabilize occupancy once last-minute changes occur.
“It’s all about anticipating that and building in those contingencies,” Echert said.
When the event finally arrives, the focus shifts decisively.
“These guests have paid a premium price, and they’re going to expect a premium experience, regardless of what hotel class you are,” Echert said. “It’s going to become about service.”
At the Hyatt Regency and Hilton Santa Clara, themed amenities, décor, events, and activations will take the guest experience to new heights.
“These touches are crafted to capture the excitement of the event while providing memorable moments for our visitors,” Belloumini said.
With preparedness on their side, owners, operators, and non-customer-facing staff such as revenue managers can now pitch in on the service side. “The more hands on deck you can have at the hotel, the better,” Echert said continued.
After the crowds depart, Echert encouraged hotels to evaluate performance with a wider lens. Rather than isolating peak nights, he recommended reviewing RevPAR index, length-of-stay profitability, and total market share across the full event window.
“For some hotels and some markets, it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Echert said. “Let’s focus on the bigger picture there. Ultimately, an owner is going to be happier with maximizing total revenue” – not just selling out at the highest rate.
Image: Ivelin Radkov/stock.adobe.com
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