May 19, 2026
Golf fans are gearing up for the U.S. Open Championship — and if they want to be there to see the irons swing in person, they may have a chance of finding cheaper accommodations than expected.
Ahead of the June 15-21 event at the sprawling Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (1) in Southampton, New York, average nightly rates are down 2.5% from last year, per data that Bloomberg obtained from AirDNA (2). Average rates for one of golf's biggest weeks aren't exactly what anyone would call cheap, at over $1,100 per night (3), Bloomberg reports, but there are deals to be had.
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As Judi Desiderio (4) of William Raveis Real Estate told Bloomberg, demand thus far isn't quite up to expected levels, "so last-minute bookers can get house rentals at a relative bargain."
A supply glut for a big golfing week
The average daily rate decline from last year at this time is down the most in Hampton Bays, at around 7%. Southampton's daily rate is essentially flat compared to last year, at 0.4%, even though it's the site of the Open (and also the site of so-called Billionares Row (5), where hedge fund manager Ken Griffin keeps his $84 million estate and New England Patriot's owner Robert Kraft has a $43 million mansion). Westhampton is the only area in the region that has seen a significant rate bump since last year, at close to 8%.
The overall decline is pretty good news for rabid golf fans who are still looking for relative deals on housing, but less so for locals who thought they might be able to cash in extra big this year, the first time Shinnecock has hosted this golf competition since 2018 (6).
As real estate agent Robert Banker (7) from Hedgerow Exclusive told Bloomberg, for a lot of people with Hamptons real estate who were hoping to make serious bank for the week, "there's a delusion that you're sitting on a lottery ticket and it's just not coming."
And it's not like golf fans aren't expected to attend — as South Fork Commuter Connection reports, 150,000-plus attendees (8) are expected to show for a week that begins with practice rounds on June 15 through 17 and ends with the main event from June 18 to 21.
And the week, even if it doesn't meet full expectations, is likely to be an economic boon for New York; last year's U.S. Open Golf Championship, held at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, drew around 200,000 players and spectators from across the globe and brought in over $288 million (9) for the state.
But supply is still outstripping demand in the Hamptons, where available rentals are up over 17% (3) compared to last year around the same time. "There's 150 rentals for $100,000 in Sag Harbor," Banker told Bloomberg. Some owners may need to rein in their expectations to get more bites.
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Part of a trend?
Another major sporting event sparking huge excitement this year is the FIFA World Cup (10), set to start June 11 and going through July 19, with games hosted in 16 cities across the US, Canada and Mexico. The World Cup happens only every four years, so this summer is extra special for soccer fans.
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Yet, despite FIFA president Gianni Infantino (11) reportedly saying interest in this year's competition is like "1,000 years of World Cups at once," ticket sales are dropping on resale sites (12) amid lower demand, Newsweek reports, in some cases even going below $100 for lesser games. The drop in price on the resale market may reflect prices that are at overall exorbitant (13) levels and may have to come down to sell out.
But it's not just ticket prices — hotels in host cities (14) including Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia are reportedly seeing bookings that are running behind even a typical summer without a major event in store. And some Airbnb hosts — including those who have spent several thousand dollars (15) to prepare their homes for World Cup travelers — are also having trouble getting bookings.
Part of the trend may be attributed to an overall drop in international travel to the U.S. amid soaring fuel prices, immigration crackdowns and geopolitical tensions. International travel to the U.S. in 2025 dropped 5.5% (16) from the previous year, reports the World Travel & Tourism Council and some international routes (17) have been further affected this year by the war in Iran. International World Cup attendees play a hugely important role in booking and spending for the event.
Still hope ahead
Still, there is time for both U.S. Open Golf and FIFA bookings to fill up further before the events take place. And don't worry too much about Hamptons homeowners. Bloomberg reports that bookings are still up around 11% (3) for the area this summer, with average nightly rates in Southampton going for $1,730.
Meanwhile, for anyone who's interested, this seven-bedroom, nine-bath, 9,500-square foot Southampton estate (18) is available to rent for the first time, going for $200,000 for a short-term rental period — and may still be available for the U.S. Open.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (1),(6); AirDNA (2); Bloomberg (3); William Raveis Real Estate (4); Social Life Magazine (5); Hedgerow Exclusive (7); Town of Southampton (8); Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (9); FIFA (10); Kawowo Sports (11); Newsweek (12); CBS News (13); Forbes (14); The Wall Street Journal (15); World Travel & Tourism Council (16); Virginia Tech (17); Hamptons Real Estate (18)
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Rebecca specializes in business, economics and personal finance content. She has worked on consumer-facing and B2B content, including personal finance articles, articles on behavioral economics, trade publication content for financial advisors and white papers for philanthropic organizations.
