Vancouver Bars Hit 40% Gains As StubHub Cancelled FIFA World Cup Tickets For US Fans

Okay, so Canada won his first ever game at the World Cup.And even though I'm highly critical when it comes to the FIFA organization, I'm still gonna cheer for my team.And it's great to see Canada winning in my hometown of Vancouver.And it's also great to see the local shops and businesses benefiting as well.I mean, hey, we gotta get something out of this, right?This Irish pub on Granville Street?

It was literally two blocks from where I used to live.And it's great to see Granville Street lively again.Not like looking like a scene from The Last of Us.But I am glad to see Vancouver bars and restaurants benefiting.Unlike this one in Houston, where he's probably still trying to find his customers.I would imagine that his bar might be doing a little bit better if his government wasn't trying to deter everybody from going to their country.

But while the celebrations are going well in Canada, and that's where a majority of the media's focus is on right now, it's not all beer and celebrations for everyone.Because there are reports of people buying tickets from StubHub, getting excited and ready to go, and then all of a sudden having their tickets cancelled last minute.So we're going to get into these ticket issues, but before we do that, I do want to talk about the benefit of having Canada win on home soil.Let's get into the first report.

Seats filling up fast at Dublin Calling Wednesday morning, the sports bar on Granville Street has been packed since the tournament began.

We're quite expecting how busy it has been.

Management says the bar has been full starting from the morning games and well into the night.

Saturday around like 3 p .m., we noticed that we were getting pretty low on beers.Australians were purposely trying to drink us dry.

Now, to my Australian viewers, I didn't realize how much you guys drink.Because it was mentioned in another report that the Australian group that went to Vancouver, I think they drank like 2 ,500 beers.But hey, I'm not complaining, because I mean, you're spending your money in Vancouver, and it's helping our economy.And one thing I should mention, this bar that they're talking about right now, I'm glad it's still around, because it's changed owners and names a few times.But my point is that these businesses do need the revenue, because I would really hate to see them go bankrupt.these business spaces go vacant.

And for the record, yeah, I used to be on Granville Street a lot.I mean, I live two blocks away.It was especially convenient after hockey games and even for the weekends.And it acted kind of like a crash pad for my friends.But hey, it's better than them driving drunk, right?Don't drink and drive.

So we had to, you know, rush and go get about 20 kegs of lager.

They've since ordered 200 more beer kegs for big crowds fueled in part by tourists not worried about racking up a hefty tab during a once -in -a -lifetime trip.

I'm not really trying to pay too much attention to it, if I'm quite honest, because that will... stop me from spending, I guess.

I'm lucky because I'm staying with a friend, so I'm putting all my rent money into Biz.

The BC Restaurant and Food Services Association says the biggest winners are downtown, particularly at venues showing the games, but says some other Metro Vancouver communities are reporting stronger than usual sales.

Now, we're well ahead of where we thought we would be.Like, we don't normally hear things like 20, 30, 40 percent sales increases.I mean, we might hear up 5 or 6 percent, which is great, but these are incredible numbers.

Now, I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong.I didn't actually think the tourism boom in Canada would be this big when it came to the FIFA World Cup.But last night, when I was thinking about making this video, I went through some of my emails, some of the 400 plus unread emails I still have, and I came across an email, and I'm really sorry that it didn't reply to your email.But this person from the UK sent me an email, and I'm not going to show the email for privacy purposes.But to paraphrase and summarize what he said, he basically said he's coming to Canada for the World Cup.He's probably going to spend about $25 ,000 with his group, and he refuses to go to the United States.

And even though England is only playing in the United States and not Canada, their group collectively decided that, you know what, we're going to spend our money in Canada instead.So yeah, for any international tourists that decided to come to Canada instead of the United States, I welcome you.

The province says beer has been the top seller so far.

Beer is a big thing for us.English fans.It's definitely a good thing.

Sales through the liquor distribution branch are running about $1 .6 million higher than they typically would this time of year, according to the province.Good news for some 200 ,000 British Columbians who work in hospitality.

That's translating into tips, wages, jobs, more hours for a significant amount of people that are working in the industry.

Dublin Calling has 30 additional staff members on hand to ensure service runs smoothly, but can't guarantee everyone will get through the door.

If you're looking to get a game in, come early, that's all I'd say.

So like I said, I'm happy that Canadian businesses are benefiting on this, because this event is probably going to save some of these restaurants and bars from going under.But I do have to ask, what is the Canadian taxpayer going to benefit from this whole event?Personally, I still believe there should have been at least some lasting infrastructure or something that would have benefited all Canadian taxpayers, not just the bars and restaurants.For the 2010 Olympics, we got new recreation facilities, new transit system, a whole new neighborhood, and an upgraded freeway.And even if you didn't support the Olympics or watch it, these are still benefits you can take advantage of.But I still wonder what the lasting legacy is going to be for the FIFA World Cup in about five years.

Now, it's not all celebrations and beer and drunken stupors for everyone.Reports are coming out that people who bought tickets long time ago are having their tickets canceled last minute.And that's the risk you take when you buy off a third -party system.Let's take a look.

Maryland mom of four, Heather Durgan, knew just the right Christmas surprise for her soccer -loving kids.

World Cup doesn't come to the U .S.every couple of years.

So she bought four tickets to a match in New Jersey through the third -party resale platform StubHub.She tells NBC affiliate WBAL it cost her $2 ,200 and she was told she'd get the tickets before kickoff.Her kids couldn't wait.

They were elated.They were ecstatic.But then, three days before the match, we got an email from StubHub saying that our seller could not deliver our tickets to us.

Now, if you're not sure what StubHub is, it's a third -party website where ticket owners can sell their tickets, and they can list it for whatever they want.And how the process actually works is that the ticket seller would upload his tickets, whether digitally to the platform, or if the ticket sells, They would mail out the physical tickets to the buyer before the actual game starts.How do I know all this?Because I've bought and sold tickets on StubHub, so I kind of know the risk on both sides.Now these people that bought tickets that had their tickets cancelled last minute, they'll probably get their money back, but there's no guarantee that they're gonna get a ticket for the game that they won.

She says StubHub offered her a refund, but said no replacement tickets were available on such short notice.She's not the only one.

No explanation, no offering me other tickets or any kind of remedy.

Stories just like Durgan's have been flooding social media in the first week of the World Cup.At 9am, no ticket.And we just got a call from StubHub saying that our tickets are being refunded.Fans saying they paid thousands of dollars on resale platforms like StubHub for tickets that never came.We're on the chat with StubHub right now.Rosina Takuchi told the Dallas Observer her family spent $1 ,500 on tickets to see Japan play in Dallas.

But on game day, the seller failed to deliver them.StubHub has some explaining to do.The challenge is that third party resale tickets often aren't delivered until 24 to 48 hours before an event.Sometimes the sellers don't even have the tickets themselves before that.

And this is the problem right here.A seller can create a listing on any seat in any game they want.They'll have an option to upload the digital ticket, or they can select the option that they'll mail out.And if they use the mail out option, they don't even have to have the ticket with them.So I'm not surprised to hear all these cancellations.And who knows what the seller's reason is for not being able to sell it.

I mean, who knows?Maybe they never had it.Maybe they're trying to do a scam.Maybe they sold it for a higher price and forgot to drop their listing.Who knows?But you're at the mercy of the seller at this point.

Leave some buyers in limbo until the final hours before a match.And even if a refund is issued, it doesn't cover the cost of travel or missed memories.Now, I've taken time off of work.I've booked a plane ticket.I booked a hotel.And now you threw our entire trip off.

I'm pretty bummed out.

StubHub telling NBC News that if a seller doesn't deliver the tickets, it will try to find replacements or give fans their money back.The company added it takes its responsibility seriously and that when sellers fail to deliver tickets, StubHub investigates and takes action.But it's also pointed the finger at FIFA's ticket transfer restrictions.FIFA has repeatedly warned fans against purchasing tickets through third -party platforms, instead directing fans to its official resale marketplace.

which has been reported to be higher in price versus StubHub.But hey, I guess if you want your ticket to be guaranteed, you got to go with a bigger thief.

As for Heather Durgan, a happy ending.After our Baltimore affiliate reached out to StubHub, she was offered replacement tickets.They made it to the match, but Durgan still wants to caution others about the risks.

I don't want to see this happen to other people.

A yellow card warning with weeks of matches still to come.

Now, I'm going to end this report here because the rest of it, they just basically talk about taking precautions on buying tickets and things like that.But what I want to do is I want to show the real people who are not getting their tickets.So let's move on to this next report.

All I want is three tickets to the game that I promised my son for Christmas.

Back in December, Siobhan Sanders bought tickets to the Norway France World Cup game in Foxborough as a Christmas present for her 10 year old son, Leo.

And he's been taking them.like the dentist, you know, everybody that he meets, he's just talking about this game.

Her price, $450 per ticket.With StubHub's fees, the total came to $1 ,600.She thought she was all set until StubHub moved the goalposts.Suddenly this week, StubHub sent this email saying they were reviewing her refund request.She never requested a refund and so called them right away.Which is when she found out the seller cancelled the sale.

Remember when I said earlier you're at the mercy of the seller?Well, who knows why this seller cancelled.I mean maybe he sold it for a higher price.Or maybe he's going to the game himself.Or maybe the ticket never existed.But it doesn't help the hundreds if not thousands of people who bought tickets who are getting these cancellation notices.

I just was like, how can they do that?How can StubHub not verify that the people selling tickets on their site actually have those tickets?

Now I really do have to wonder how busy StubHub's customer service is right now.And we only heard two stories of buyers that went to the media.I'm sure there's probably hundreds or thousands more.For me, I would rather just stay away from this mess.I'll just go to a bar instead.

There are plenty of France -Norway tickets on StubHub, but the price has skyrocketed.The cheapest we saw is $1 ,500 a seat, with most going for over $2 ,000.

Why sell it to me for the price that I paid in December when they can sell it for five times as much today to somebody else?

This is super unethical what they're doing.I bought my tickets several months ago, and they said it's not on them, it's on the seller.And I said, well, You're allowing this to happen.

The same thing happened to Christine Bennett, who also bought France -Norway tickets to take her nephew.But then StubHub told her this week they needed to replace her tickets because the seller can't deliver them.It seems either StubHub is letting people sell tickets they don't actually have, or the company is letting sellers back out of sales because the ticket value has gone up.Despite multiple promises Christine would get new tickets, she still hasn't seen them.

I'll never, ever, ever use StubHub again, ever.It's been a nightmare.

Neither of these customers want a refund.They believe StubHub should get on the ball and find them new tickets.

Sorry, I'm a little emotional, but it's his dream.I promised him this for Christmas.I want to deliver what I promised to my kids.

Doesn't every parent?So in a statement StubHub blamed FIFA for the ticket trouble.They say it's because of FIFA's technology and FIFA's ticketing app.

So there you have it.While majority of the media is showing celebrations and people drinking beer, there's still issues when it comes to the FIFA World Cup, mainly for those that are buying tickets or have bought tickets in the past.I mean, can you imagine buying a ticket in like December, planning your trip, maybe even like buying flights and hotels, getting ready, then all of a sudden you get that email.It sucks for these families that are going through this, and unfortunately that's the risk that you take when you buy from StubHub.But I am happy that Canada won, and even though I don't like the organizer, I still get a cheer from my team.Probably not going to watch the games because they start at like 6.

in the morning over here, but I do hope that Canada does go far in the brackets.I mean, can you imagine how funny it would be if Canada actually won?To close off this video, I would like to again thank Jonathan G for posting this photo of the Emerald Lake just off the Klondike Highway in the Yukon.I know I posted a few of his photos, but I do want to feature other areas of Canada that might not be posted yet.So thank you again, Jonathan, for sharing this with us.And for those waiting for the co -host, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but she's out on a field trip today with my wife.

But to make it up, here's a photo of the Cojos, watching me talk about her on our Discord server.Alright everyone, that's all I got for this video.If you found any value in anything I said today, or you want to hear more from a Canadian and international point of view, without the US media bias, make sure you hit that like and subscribe button below.That way you'll be notified of my future videos.And don't forget to hit the bell icon and select all as well.Now if you want to see more of my videos on the FIFA World Cup, check out the ones that are going to show up on your screen shortly.

Thanks everyone, I'll catch you in the next one.