Travelers Are Planning 2026 Around Major Events—and Booking Earlier Than Ever
Search data shows early demand surging around sports, music, and August’s total solar eclipse—months ahead of travel dates.
Photo: Mick Haupt / Unsplash
Hotels.com says 2026 is already shaping up as a heavyweight year for event-driven travel, with search data pointing to sharp spikes tied to sports, music, and a rare celestial event—well ahead of the calendar turning. The company’s newly released Get a Room 2026 Forecast shows travelers planning earlier and more aggressively for moments that concentrate demand in specific cities and regions.
The clearest example is August’s total solar eclipse, with searches for destinations along the path of totality up 445% year over year. Interest is especially strong for Iceland and Greenland, where visibility conditions are expected to be among the best. Hotels.com also pointed out that during the 2024 eclipse, hotel rates jumped sharply roughly three weeks out as occupancy surged in smaller markets—an early indicator of what’s likely to repeat in 2026.
“Big events drive intense demand, which means hotel availability shrinks quickly and prices rise fast,” said Melanie Fish, vice president of public relations for Hotels.com. “Timing is key. During the 2024 total solar eclipse, hotel rates spiked a few weeks out when occupancy hit 85–90% in towns in the path of totality. With searches already up triple-digits for this summer’s eclipse, your best bet is to book now with free cancellation—and that strategy applies to other big games and concerts, too.”
Sports remain a dominant driver. February’s Super Bowl in Santa Clara is already generating a 395% year-over-year increase in searches, with average nightly rates hovering around $415—roughly double last year’s levels at the same point in the booking cycle. Separately, the World Cup running from June to July across North America has triggered a 665% surge in global searches for host cities following the official draw announcement in December. Early demand is especially outsized for Los Angeles and Seattle, where first-round match dates are pushing projected rates well above seasonal norms.
Cultural and heritage travel is also gaining traction in some less likely places. The 100th anniversary of Route 66, celebrated in May, is reviving interest in classic road-trip towns across Illinois, Arizona, and California, with modest but meaningful search increases pointing to longer summer travel windows rather than a single weekend spike.
Music-led travel rounds out the forecast. A global tour by Bad Bunny, running from January through July, is driving measurable demand across Latin America and Europe. Searches jumped 70% after a December show in Mexico City, with Buenos Aires, São Paulo, and Madrid emerging as early standouts for 2026 tour dates.
Hotels.com’s data shows off a familiar pattern: concentrated events compress availability, accelerate booking curves, and reward travelers’ early planning. For now, the next milestone is August’s eclipse—but the broader takeaway is that 2026’s calendar is already shaping booking behavior months, and in some cases years, in advance.
