A chance to see King Felipe VI and footballer Lamine Yamal of Spain in person in your hometown? That's exactly what residents in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will get the opportunity to do this summer.
Thanks to the FIFA World Cup, several foreign soccer teams will use cities in the Southeast as their base camps. Typically, these locations are not host cities where matches take place. The teams are expected to stay at local hotels and train at nearby facilities. In addition, their entourages and diehard fans are anticipated to follow the teams on the road, further boosting hotel demand in base-camp markets.
Base camps in Tennessee
Japan selected Nashville as its base camp. The city is located within a two-hour plane ride of two of its group-stage games in Arlington, Texas. Nashville's hotel market has experienced tremendous supply growth over the past decade, offering a variety of lodging options ranging from big-box convention hotels to intimate lifestyle properties.
Transient guests comprise roughly 70% of overall demand in Music City, with the remainder in the group sector, including social events like the bachelorette parties Nashville is known for. However, hotel demand has not kept pace with supply additions for the past two years. The resulting 12-month revenue per available room, or RevPAR, declined by 1.2% through February 2026.
Another base camp location in Tennessee is Chattanooga, which will serve as the headquarters for the Spanish soccer team. The city is located within a two-hour drive to Atlanta, where two of the team's group-stage matches will take place.
Like Nashville, Chattanooga recorded significant inventory growth over the past two years. Although industries such as logistics, manufacturing and health services supported hotel demand, hotel performance remained lackluster, as reflected in a 12-month RevPAR change of 0.2% through February.
Base camps in North Carolina
Neighboring North Carolina will also host several European soccer teams, including Scotland in Charlotte, Germany in Winston-Salem and Norway in Greensboro.
Charlotte serves as a convenient mid-stop for Scotland, as the country will play two games in Boston and a third in Miami. Charlotte's hotel demand normalized after Hurricane Helene in late 2024, resulting in a 12-month RevPAR decline of 4.4% through February, driven by less volume as hurricane-related demand from residents, emergency workers and insurance adjusters disappeared.
The German soccer team will travel far for their matches in Houston, Toronto and New Jersey, and Winston-Salem offers a quieter retreat to regroup and recover. Nearby Greensboro also has a similar vibe, allowing Norway to reset between games in the Northeast.
Greensboro is the largest hotel submarket in Greensboro-Winston Salem, with over 10,300 hotel rooms. It attracts steady demand from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as parents' weekends, homecoming and athletic competitions fill hotel rooms. However, transient demand softened since the second half of 2025, as ongoing geopolitical tensions and a softening labor market reduced travel sentiment. Through February, the 12-month RevPAR stood at roughly $70, down 3.2% year over year.
About 30 miles west, Winston-Salem is home to Wake Forest University and Innovation Quarter, a 330-acre district focused on biomedical science, material science and information technology. Hotels in the 5,700-room Winston-Salem experienced occupancy declines, as the submarket struggled to absorb new supply. The 12-month RevPAR was about $66 through February, down 4.5% compared to the previous 12-month period.
European countries typically do not need a tourist visa to enter the United States. Instead, their nationals need to apply online for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, prior to travel. Although World Cup host cities are projected to experience incremental demand this summer, smaller base camp markets could also benefit from longer-term stays by foreign teams, their staffs and passionate fans.
