{
  "slug": "europe-hotel-market",
  "question": "How big is the European hotel market for a startup selling to hotels — how many nights and hotels, how full the rooms are by hotel size, what hotels earn and keep, and how they sell rooms?",
  "title": "European Hotel Market 2026: Nights, Occupancy by Hotel Size, Turnover, Margins and Booking Channels by Country",
  "answer": {
    "headline": "EU27 hotels sold 1,930,915,538 nights in 2025 (4.1% above the 1,855,029,070 nights of 2019 — a calculation from Eurostat values) at a 60.3% bedroom occupancy rate — but EU hotels with fewer than 25 rooms filled only 32.9% of their rooms against 65.9% for hotels with 100 rooms or more. The EU had 148,484 hotel enterprises in 2024, 108,270 of them with fewer than 10 people employed, turning over about €200 billion; 65.9% of EU accommodation enterprises with 10+ staff sell through booking marketplaces (Eurostat, 2024–2025).",
    "sample": "Eurostat tourism statistics (tour_occ_ninat, tour_occ_anor, tour_occ_anor2, tour_occ_nim), structural business statistics (sbs_ovw_act, sbs_sc_ovw), ICT usage in enterprises (isoc_ec_eseln2, isoc_eb_ain2, isoc_ciwebn2), HICP (prc_hicp_aind); INE Spain hotel occupancy survey and Statistics Portugal tourism flash estimate (August 2026); European Commission DG ECFIN services survey (September 2026); Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and IHG Q2/H1 2026 filings (sec.gov); European Commission DMA decisions and Court of Justice of the EU. Reference periods 2019–2026.",
    "verifiedAsOf": "2026-10-12"
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "demand",
      "title": "Demand: nights spent in EU27 hotels, 2019–2026",
      "note": "Hotels and similar accommodation (NACE I55.1), all guests, EU27. Demand passed its 2019 level in 2024 and grew by less each year since 2023. Foreign guests are just over half of all nights.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Nights spent in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "1,930,915,538 nights",
          "segment": "all guests",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Nights spent in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "1,897,604,098 nights",
          "segment": "all guests",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Nights spent in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "1,842,188,810 nights",
          "segment": "all guests",
          "period": "2023",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Nights spent in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "1,701,889,214 nights",
          "segment": "all guests",
          "period": "2022",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Nights spent in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "795,014,048 nights",
          "segment": "all guests · pandemic low",
          "period": "2020",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Nights spent in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "1,855,029,070 nights",
          "segment": "all guests · pre-pandemic",
          "period": "2019",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Nights spent in EU27 hotels by foreign guests",
          "value": "1,001,457,535 nights",
          "segment": "non-residents of the reporting country",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Year-on-year change in nights spent in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "2.4%",
          "segment": "year-on-year change, all guests, monthly",
          "period": "July 2026",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_nim",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_nim/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average length of stay in EU27 hotels",
          "value": "2.43 nights",
          "segment": "all guests, nights per arrival",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "countries",
      "title": "Nights spent in hotels by country, 2025",
      "note": "Same Eurostat table and definition for every country: all guests in hotels and similar accommodation (NACE I55.1). Six largest markets in this set.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Spain",
          "value": "366,146,835",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Germany",
          "value": "298,561,703",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Italy",
          "value": "288,181,878",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "France",
          "value": "220,246,608",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Greece",
          "value": "119,008,486",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Austria",
          "value": "93,827,889",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_ninat",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "occupancy-size",
      "title": "Bedroom occupancy by hotel size, EU27, 2025 (%)",
      "note": "Net occupancy rate of bedrooms: rooms occupied over rooms available on the days the hotel was open. The gap by size is the single largest spread in the data — the small hotel fills about half as many of its rooms as a large one.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Hotels with 100 rooms or more",
          "value": "65.88%",
          "segment": "2024: 66.15%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Hotels with 25–99 rooms",
          "value": "56.66%",
          "segment": "2024: 57.21%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Hotels with fewer than 25 rooms",
          "value": "32.86%",
          "segment": "2024: 32.4%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "All hotels, EU27",
          "value": "60.29%",
          "segment": "2019: 60.11% · 2020: 37.26%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "occupancy-country",
      "title": "Bedroom occupancy in hotels by country, 2025 (%)",
      "note": "All hotel sizes. Southern sun-and-sea markets run fullest; Romania's hotels fill barely a quarter of their rooms.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Cyprus",
          "value": "71.5%",
          "segment": "2024: 67.6%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Spain",
          "value": "69.95%",
          "segment": "2024: 69.52%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "France",
          "value": "62.3%",
          "segment": "2024: 61.4%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Germany",
          "value": "60.38%",
          "segment": "2024: 60.52%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Italy",
          "value": "57%",
          "segment": "2024: 58.3%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Romania",
          "value": "26.88%",
          "segment": "2024: 28.12%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — tour_occ_anor",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_anor/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "buyers",
      "title": "The buyer: hotel enterprises, turnover and productivity by size",
      "note": "Enterprise counts and turnover are for hotels and similar accommodation (NACE I55.1); turnover per person employed is published for all accommodation (NACE I55), which also includes campsites and short-stay rentals. The EU27 turnover total is published by Eurostat rounded to the nearest €10 billion.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Hotel enterprises, EU27",
          "value": "148,484",
          "segment": "all size classes · 2021: 144,223",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Hotel enterprises with 0–9 persons employed, EU27",
          "value": "108,270",
          "segment": "micro enterprises",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_sc_ovw",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_sc_ovw/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Net turnover of hotels, EU27",
          "value": "€200,000 million",
          "segment": "rounded by Eurostat · 2023: €190,000 million",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Net turnover of hotels, Germany",
          "value": "€37,541 million",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Net turnover of hotels, Spain",
          "value": "€34,690 million",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Net turnover of hotels, Italy",
          "value": "€30,082 million",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Net turnover of hotels, France",
          "value": "€26,121 million",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Net turnover of hotels, Austria",
          "value": "€13,554 million",
          "segment": "2023: €12,661 million",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Turnover per person employed, accommodation, 0–9 persons employed, EU27",
          "value": "€70.72 thousand",
          "segment": "NACE I55 (all accommodation)",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_sc_ovw",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_sc_ovw/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Turnover per person employed, accommodation, 20–49 persons employed, EU27",
          "value": "€83.33 thousand",
          "segment": "NACE I55 (all accommodation)",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_sc_ovw",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_sc_ovw/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Turnover per person employed, accommodation, 250+ persons employed, EU27",
          "value": "€133.33 thousand",
          "segment": "NACE I55 (all accommodation)",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_sc_ovw",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_sc_ovw/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "margins",
      "title": "What hotels keep: gross operating rate by country, 2024 (%)",
      "note": "Gross operating surplus over turnover, hotels and similar accommodation (NACE I55.1). It is before depreciation, interest, rent on owned property and tax — the cash a hotel has left after paying staff and suppliers, and the pool any software spend comes from.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Cyprus",
          "value": "28.74%",
          "segment": "2023: 25.86%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Spain",
          "value": "24.56%",
          "segment": "2023: 23%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Italy",
          "value": "23.2%",
          "segment": "2023: 23.22%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "EU27",
          "value": "20%",
          "segment": "2023: 21.05%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Austria",
          "value": "18.16%",
          "segment": "2023: 17.32%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Germany",
          "value": "15.05%",
          "segment": "2023: 16.51%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "France",
          "value": "14.31%",
          "segment": "2023: 13.98%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Estonia",
          "value": "7.8%",
          "segment": "2023: 7.3%",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — sbs_ovw_act",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "prices",
      "title": "Prices: hotel inflation, chain room rates and price expectations",
      "note": "Hotel price inflation has slowed four years in a row. Spain and Portugal publish official room rates for all hotels in euros — August is peak season, so read them as a high-season ceiling, not a year-round price. The chain rows are the comparable hotels of each listed group in Europe, in US dollars — branded, mostly upper-scale hotels, not the average EU hotel. The DG ECFIN balance is the share of accommodation firms expecting to raise prices minus the share expecting to cut them over the next three months.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Hotel accommodation consumer price inflation, EU27",
          "value": "3.9%",
          "segment": "annual average",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — prc_hicp_aind",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_hicp_aind/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Hotel accommodation consumer price inflation, EU27",
          "value": "4.8%",
          "segment": "annual average",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "Eurostat — prc_hicp_aind",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_hicp_aind/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Hotel accommodation consumer price inflation, EU27",
          "value": "10.1%",
          "segment": "annual average",
          "period": "2023",
          "source": "Eurostat — prc_hicp_aind",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_hicp_aind/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Hotel accommodation consumer price inflation, EU27",
          "value": "15.9%",
          "segment": "annual average",
          "period": "2022",
          "source": "Eurostat — prc_hicp_aind",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_hicp_aind/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average daily rate, hotels, Spain",
          "value": "€166.90",
          "segment": "all hotels · August 2025: €155.52",
          "period": "August 2026",
          "source": "INE Spain — Hotel Occupancy Survey, ADR by region (table 2059)",
          "url": "https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=2059",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average daily rate, hotels, Andalusia (Spain)",
          "value": "€177.92",
          "segment": "August 2025: €166.13",
          "period": "August 2026",
          "source": "INE Spain — Hotel Occupancy Survey, ADR by region (table 2059)",
          "url": "https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=2059",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average daily rate, hotels, Community of Madrid (Spain)",
          "value": "€116.89",
          "segment": "August 2025: €122.56",
          "period": "August 2026",
          "source": "INE Spain — Hotel Occupancy Survey, ADR by region (table 2059)",
          "url": "https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=2059",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "RevPAR, hotels and similar, Portugal",
          "value": "€134.36",
          "segment": "all star ratings",
          "period": "August 2026",
          "source": "Statistics Portugal (INE) — Tourism activity, flash estimate",
          "url": "https://www.ine.pt/ngt_server/attachfileu.jsp?look_parentBoui=817594272&att_display=n&att_download=y",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "RevPAR, 5-star hotels, Portugal",
          "value": "€224.46",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "August 2026",
          "source": "Statistics Portugal (INE) — Tourism activity, flash estimate",
          "url": "https://www.ine.pt/ngt_server/attachfileu.jsp?look_parentBoui=817594272&att_display=n&att_download=y",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "RevPAR, 4-star hotels, Portugal",
          "value": "€121.76",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "August 2026",
          "source": "Statistics Portugal (INE) — Tourism activity, flash estimate",
          "url": "https://www.ine.pt/ngt_server/attachfileu.jsp?look_parentBoui=817594272&att_display=n&att_download=y",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average daily rate, Hilton comparable hotels, Europe",
          "value": "$182.96",
          "segment": "occupancy 78.3% · RevPAR $143.28, up 4.3% y/y",
          "period": "Q2 2026",
          "source": "Hilton — Q2 2026 earnings release (SEC filing)",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1585689/000158568926000042/q22026earningsrelease.htm",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average daily rate, Marriott comparable systemwide hotels, Europe",
          "value": "$245.98",
          "segment": "occupancy 75.6% · RevPAR $185.95, up 4.2% y/y",
          "period": "Q2 2026",
          "source": "Marriott International — Q2 2026 earnings release (SEC filing)",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1048286/000104828626000033/mar-2026q2xex99earningsrel.htm",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average daily rate, Hyatt comparable hotels, Europe",
          "value": "$300.51",
          "segment": "RevPAR up 4.5% y/y",
          "period": "Q2 2026",
          "source": "Hyatt — Q2 2026 earnings release (SEC filing)",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1468174/000146817426000021/q22026earningsrelease.htm",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "RevPAR growth, IHG comparable hotels, Continental Europe",
          "value": "2.3%",
          "segment": "year on year · UK: 3.1%",
          "period": "Q2 2026",
          "source": "IHG — H1 2026 results (SEC filing)",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/858446/000165495426007436/a0528q.htm",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Selling price expectations, accommodation, EU27",
          "value": "−7",
          "segment": "balance, next 3 months",
          "period": "September 2026",
          "source": "European Commission DG ECFIN — Business and Consumer Surveys, services by NACE sub-sector",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/surveys/documents/series/nace2_ecfin_2609/services_subsectors_nsa_nace2.zip",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Selling price expectations, accommodation, Germany",
          "value": "13.1",
          "segment": "balance, next 3 months",
          "period": "September 2026",
          "source": "European Commission DG ECFIN — Business and Consumer Surveys, services by NACE sub-sector",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/surveys/documents/series/nace2_ecfin_2609/services_subsectors_nsa_nace2.zip",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Selling price expectations, accommodation, Italy",
          "value": "−29.1",
          "segment": "balance, next 3 months",
          "period": "September 2026",
          "source": "European Commission DG ECFIN — Business and Consumer Surveys, services by NACE sub-sector",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/surveys/documents/series/nace2_ecfin_2609/services_subsectors_nsa_nace2.zip",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Selling price expectations, accommodation, Croatia",
          "value": "−49.1",
          "segment": "balance, next 3 months",
          "period": "September 2026",
          "source": "European Commission DG ECFIN — Business and Consumer Surveys, services by NACE sub-sector",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/surveys/documents/series/nace2_ecfin_2609/services_subsectors_nsa_nace2.zip",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "channels",
      "title": "How hotels sell rooms and how digital they are, EU27",
      "note": "Eurostat ICT survey of accommodation enterprises (NACE I55) with 10 or more persons employed — micro hotels are not in these rows. Two in three sell through booking marketplaces, and for most of them marketplaces carry at least a fifth of online sales; very few rely on marketplaces alone.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Website offers online booking or reservation",
          "value": "80.96%",
          "segment": "2023: 78.18%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_ciwebn2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_ciwebn2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Sell via e-commerce marketplaces",
          "value": "65.93%",
          "segment": "2024: 69.15%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_ec_eseln2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_ec_eseln2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "20% or more of web sales via marketplaces",
          "value": "59.87%",
          "segment": "2024: 60.14%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_ec_eseln2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_ec_eseln2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Sell both via own website and via marketplaces",
          "value": "58.64%",
          "segment": "2024: 62.02%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_ec_eseln2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_ec_eseln2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Sell via marketplaces only, not via own website",
          "value": "7.29%",
          "segment": "2024: 7.13%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_ec_eseln2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_ec_eseln2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Use at least one AI technology",
          "value": "21.31%",
          "segment": "2024: 12.32%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_eb_ain2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_eb_ain2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Use AI for marketing or sales",
          "value": "12.53%",
          "segment": "2024: 6.96%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_eb_ain2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_eb_ain2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Have ever considered using AI",
          "value": "14.86%",
          "segment": "2024: 12.89%",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Eurostat — isoc_eb_ain2",
          "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_eb_ain2/default/table?lang=en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "rules",
      "title": "Rules that shape hotel distribution in the EU",
      "note": "Verified against the issuing authority. Both change what a hotel may do on its own website versus on Booking.com — the room a direct-booking or channel tool works in.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Booking Holdings designated a DMA gatekeeper for Booking.com",
          "value": "in force",
          "segment": "EU Digital Markets Act",
          "period": "from 14 Nov 2024",
          "source": "European Commission — Digital Markets Act",
          "url": "https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/booking-must-comply-all-relevant-obligations-under-digital-markets-act-2024-11-14_en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Booking.com may not bar hotels from offering better prices or conditions on their own or other channels",
          "value": "in force",
          "segment": "DMA anti-parity obligation",
          "period": "from 14 Nov 2024",
          "source": "European Commission — Digital Markets Act",
          "url": "https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/booking-must-comply-all-relevant-obligations-under-digital-markets-act-2024-11-14_en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Hotels get real-time, continuous access to their Booking.com data; guests may port their data",
          "value": "in force",
          "segment": "DMA data obligations",
          "period": "from 14 Nov 2024",
          "source": "European Commission — Digital Markets Act",
          "url": "https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/booking-must-comply-all-relevant-obligations-under-digital-markets-act-2024-11-14_en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Wide and narrow price-parity clauses of booking platforms are not ancillary restraints",
          "value": "binding interpretation",
          "segment": "Court of Justice, Case C-264/23 (Booking.com v 25hours Hotel)",
          "period": "19 Sep 2024",
          "source": "Court of Justice of the EU — press release 145/24",
          "url": "https://curia.europa.eu/site/upload/docs/application/pdf/2024-09/cp240145en.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "reconciliation": {
    "title": "Why hotel numbers for Europe don't add up to one market size",
    "body": "Four perimeters sit side by side on this page. First, hotels against all accommodation: nights, occupancy, enterprise counts, turnover and margins are for hotels and similar accommodation (NACE I55.1); turnover per person employed and the ICT survey rows cover all accommodation (NACE I55), which adds campsites and short-stay rentals. Second, firm size: the ICT survey counts only enterprises with 10 or more persons employed, while 108,270 of the 148,484 EU hotel enterprises employ fewer than 10 — so marketplace and AI shares describe the larger third of hotels, not the micro majority. Third, branded against average: Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and IHG report comparable branded hotels in US dollars with occupancy in the mid-to-high 70s, well above the EU27 average of 60.29% for all hotels; their rates are a ceiling, not a benchmark for an independent hotel. Fourth, rounding and periods: Eurostat publishes the EU27 turnover total rounded to €10 billion, demand is for 2025 and the money tables for 2024. Read country rows against each other only within the same table.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "source": "Eurostat — tourism statistics (tour_occ_ninat, tour_occ_anor)",
        "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tour_occ_ninat/default/table?lang=en"
      },
      {
        "source": "Eurostat — structural business statistics (sbs_ovw_act, sbs_sc_ovw)",
        "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table?lang=en"
      },
      {
        "source": "Eurostat — e-commerce sales of enterprises (isoc_ec_eseln2)",
        "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/isoc_ec_eseln2/default/table?lang=en"
      },
      {
        "source": "Hilton — Q2 2026 earnings release",
        "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1585689/000158568926000042/q22026earningsrelease.htm"
      },
      {
        "source": "European Commission — Digital Markets Act, Booking.com",
        "url": "https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/booking-must-comply-all-relevant-obligations-under-digital-markets-act-2024-11-14_en"
      }
    ]
  },
  "methodology": "Every number on this page is a fact node in the God of Startups Atlas — a knowledge graph where each metric carries its source URL, reporting period, evidence tier and the verbatim quote it was taken from. Tier 1 means official or statutory sources: Eurostat, INE Spain, Statistics Portugal, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the EU and company filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Values are shown in the currency the source reports; nothing is converted, estimated or modelled. The one calculated number — growth of nights against 2019 in the headline — is the ratio of two Eurostat values shown on this page.",
  "metaTitle": "European Hotel Market 2026: Nights, Occupancy, Margins",
  "metaDescription": "EU hotels sold 1.93 billion nights in 2025 at 60.3% occupancy; small hotels filled 32.9% of rooms. 148,484 hotel firms, ~€200bn turnover (Eurostat).",
  "page": "https://godofstartups.com/atlas/europe-hotel-market",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "note": "Each row carries its primary source, period and evidence tier (1 = official/statutory, 2 = industry research with disclosed method)."
}