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With the opening ceremony now just under seven months away, the 2026 Winter Olympics taking place across two cities in Italy will bring over 1.7 million visitors looking to watch winter sports live, cheer on athletes, and in many cases, combine a trip to a major sporting event with sightseeing in these regions of Italy.
The majority of the competition locations will be spread across Milan and surrounding Lombardy, while the Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort in the northeastern Veneto region was selected by the IOC for sports such as alpine skiing, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, and curling.
Although tickets to some Olympic events start at just €30 (35 USD), the Games traditionally create a wider problem of infrastructure strain driven by the overwhelming number of visitors coming in during the same two weeks.
The price of accommodation both shoots up and sells out, and everything from booking a table at a standard restaurant to getting a ticket for a popular tourist attraction also needs to be done months ahead of time.
Private lounges, aperitivo, and cheering from a chalet: the 2026 Olympic Games done in luxury
For those looking to bypass the crowds, live event and hospitality companies have been drawing in a type of luxury-minded traveler with packages that offer seats from private clubhouses and lodges in the host cities.
On Location, the hospitality company behind major live events like the Super Bowl and New York Fashion Week, has been tapped for Milano Cortina 2026 after serving as the official hospitality provider for the first time at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
Related: Even in heavy rain, Olympic Games are giving serious Paris wanderlust
Packages start at $162 per person and include three tiers: classic lounge, premium lounge, and private suite.
The lounges and suites are designed as private areas inside sporting venues such as the Milano Ice Park and Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
Guests have priority access to the event itself as well as a cushy lounge with couches to kick back, broadcast event coverage, and a host serving food and drinks, between which visitors can pass back and forth as the matches go on.
Image source: Shutterstock
On Location launched its Olympics packages in 2021 for Paris Olympics, takes corporate model to travelers
With the concept debuting at the Olympic Games in Paris, the Clubhouse 26 is a separate off-venue location in Milan’s Dazi building.
This historic restaurant and event space in the city center was built in 1806 to look like a peace arch in honor of Napoleon. Guests who booked packages with On Location can hang out here when in the city between events.
Meanwhile, the packages themselves cater to individuals seeking an elevated version of Olympics viewing, the kind of suite experience traditionally sold to larger and often corporate groups.
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“Hospitality has traditionally been very focused on corporate guests,” Will Whiston, the executive vice president of On Location’s Olympics and Paralympics unit, said to TheStreet in an interview.
“We open it up to fans as well. We start at 100 euros for an experience you can buy around your ticket for the Olympics and go all the way to the money-can’t-buy, totally curated experiences that are planned from start to finish.”
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a trip.)
Make a free appointment with TheStreet’s Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at [email protected] or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
Related: American Airlines to bring new ultra-luxury lounge to the South
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