KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan has kept in touch with the Adams since the last story in April. If you have a story in Raymore, you'd like to share, reach out. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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A Raymore couple hosting a short-term rental property has yet to receive a single World Cup booking — even after cutting their nightly rate — as Kansas City prepares to host its first match on June 16.
RELATED | City of Raymore announced Tuesday its plans for 10 days of World Cup events
Jeffrey and Paula Adams, who operate Ana Lou's Guest House in Raymore, Missouri, dropped their nightly World Cup rate to $800, roughly two and a half times their normal price, after previously listing the property at $1,500 a night. Despite the reduction, they have seen no takers.
"We just hadn't really had any inquiries," Jeffrey Adams said.
"It is frustrating because we need to pay the bills," Paula Adams said.
RELATED | Despite an 80% jump in searches, Raymore short-term rental hosts still lack World Cup bookings
The Adams family had been optimistic earlier this year in a previous interview, with Jeffrey Adams telling KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa in April that four or five bookings could cover the bills for several months, and that 80% occupancy over the World Cup could pay for the entire year.
That optimism has since given way to uncertainty.
Part of the problem, Jeffrey Adams said, traces back to FIFA's handling of hotel room reservations, KSHB 41 Government Accountability reporter Isabella Ledonne reported Tuesday.
According to Visit KC, FIFA had blocked off 5,000 rooms per night on peak days during the tournament.
In February, FIFA canceled 75% of those reservations — a move that fell within the terms of its contract and carried no penalty fees — flooding the Kansas City lodging market with inventory at a critical time.
"If those 5,000 rooms had been booked, then people would've had no choice but to look for more bookings," Jeffrey Adams said.
The cancellations came after hotels and short-term rental hosts had already set elevated rates in anticipation of high demand.
RELATED | Kansas City hotel bookings for World Cup lag; Visit KC expects late surge
FIFA has still not responded to KSHB 41's request for comment as of the time of publication Wednesday.
Bethany Marcum, who booked a downtown Kansas City hotel room in January for a work conference — before FIFA canceled its room blocks — said Tuesday the timing made a difference in what she paid.
"It was more expensive than I thought," Marcum said. "What we were being quoted and paid was probably contingent on the fact that they expected those bookings. I think if you tried to get it now, you could get a deal."
The broader short-term rental market is feeling the same pressure.
Susan Brown, president of the KC Short-Term Rental Alliance, said the market is falling short of expectations across the board.
"I think we're in the same boat with hotels. I think that we are not seeing the numbers that we were expecting or told to expect," Brown said.
In Grandview, short-term rental manager Estian Reynolds said adjusting his pricing made the difference.
Reynolds manages properties through the platform Nightly and said he secured several bookings after bringing his rates in line with what the market would bear.
RELATED | Rural Kansas counties begin preparations for 2026 World Cup's economic boost
"I've never gotten $600 a night before. I mean, so to me, that's a home run in terms of a booking," Reynolds said.
Reynolds said demand is up compared to last year, but not at the levels many hosts anticipated.
"You try your best to measure the demand. It is up, but I think compared to what they're predicting, it's maybe half of what they predicted," Reynolds said.
Reynolds noted that a roughly 40% increase in new listings has kept pace with rising demand, compressing the gains many hosts had hoped to see.
Kansas City ranks No. 1 among all 16 FIFA World Cup host cities for new host growth, according to Airbnb data.
Despite the sluggish start, Airbnb data shows Kansas City ranks No. 2 among U.S. host cities for last-minute bookings — a trend Brown said hosts should keep in mind, particularly for the knockout round matches in early July.
"I would hold firm on those last two games because we still don't know and who those last minute bookings might be," Brown said.
"Airbnb has revealed that the FIFA World Cup is set to be the biggest hosting event in Airbnb’s history — surpassing the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris," an Airbnb spokesperson told Gamboa in an email. "We’ve seen meaningful excitement for the tournament across our platform, and data shows that around one in six guests booking stays in host cities are first-time Airbnb users."
For now, the Adams family is holding out hope, but has somewhat lost the excitement for the biggest event to pass through Kansas City.
"Fingers crossed some last-minute bookings might come in," Jeffrey Adams said.
"I'm just not feeling it," Paula Adams added. "It is frustrating, because we need to pay the bills. Now our current people that would normally come here to stay, can’t or won’t because they were told we were going to be booked up and to stay away."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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