In a recent virtual conference, the president of the National Business Tourism Council (CNET) in Mexico, Antonio Cosío, announced that FIFA has unlocked hotel reservations in Guadalajara for the upcoming 2026 World Cup. This follows a similar pattern observed in Mexico City, where hotel rooms were released by FIFA rather than by individual buyers, although the number of rooms released in Guadalajara was lower than in the capital.

Cosío did not disclose the percentage of hotel reservations that FIFA initially planned to occupy but mentioned that the level of unlocked rooms in Guadalajara is less than that of Mexico City, where 40% of reservations were released. The notification about the unlocking of these hotel reservations raised concerns within the federal government, prompting them to instruct hotel associations to use the term 'unlocking' instead of 'cancellation' to describe the situation.

Despite the significant potential for tourism during the World Cup, it is clear that FIFA will not utilize the entirety of the hotel reservations it had made. This situation highlights the complexities and dynamics of hotel bookings in the context of major international events, as well as the strategic adjustments that stakeholders must make in anticipation of the World Cup, further affecting local tourism businesses.