Drawing on insights from 1,240 executives and managers across 24 markets from the European accommodation sector, this year’s report affirmed the resilience and stability maintained by an industry that has faced many headwinds in recent years. But amid the overall positivity, key concerns highlighted priority areas for continued development particularly in addressing divisions between large and small businesses.
Steady growth and confidence levels bolstering adaptations to new market dynamics
Overall economic sentiment continues to hold, with 66% expecting positive development in the coming season and 60% reporting a strong general financial situation. Across the board, shifting marketing dynamics saw properties of all sizes report a similar experience: average daily rate growth moderated, with a three percentage point YoY drop in those reporting increases (40% in 2026 vs 43% in 2025), balanced by 50% seeing growth in occupancy rates, up 10% YoY.
However, while collective perceptions paint an optimistic picture, the findings highlight growing pressure on smaller and independent accommodations to keep pace with larger operations. In key business metrics, chains report more favourably on economic conditions with 72% rating their situation positively compared to 55% of independents. Similar patterns emerge across other key performance indicators including room rates (47% chains observed increases in the six months before the survey vs 37% of independents) and occupancy developments (56% chains observed increases vs 46% of independents).
Further divisions also emerge around key industry concerns, with particular challenges in the cybersecurity space and in navigating seasonal swings and external disruptions.
Cybersecurity: readiness gaps emerge as AI rapidly accelerates risks
At a high level, two-thirds of European accommodations (66%) feel their cybersecurity preparedness is sufficient, underpinned by wide adoption of core protections such as regular software updates (86%), network security tools (85%) and secure payment processing (80%).
But delving deeper, a clear cyber-readiness gap emerges between accommodations with large versus small operations. Nearly all respondents with 250 or more employees (94%) consider themselves adequately prepared, compared to only 60% of those with fewer than ten staff. While safeguards are common across the board, smaller operators are less likely to implement more advanced or ongoing practices: less than half (49%) offer staff training compared to 89% of larger employers, with similar gaps emerging for regular IT security audits (60% vs 89%) and engagement with specialist third-party providers (62% vs 95%).
When it comes to top concerns for the coming season, 21% of businesses with less than 9 employees cited cybersecurity attacks as a top concern compared to only 9% of those with 250+ employees, while payment fraud again saw a split of 25% versus 16%.
Only 5% of smaller accommodations self-reported a cybersecurity or data security incident in the past year, rising to 28% among the largest operations, reflecting both potentially higher exposure and a greater ability to detect and formally record incidents. As cyberattack techniques become ever more sophisticated, with legitimate credentials and systems increasingly exploited, maintaining resilience will require continuous investment in systems and skills, especially for smaller properties that already face resource constraints.
Navigating disruption and seasonal fluctuations
With peak season on the horizon, demand patterns and potential hurdles are front of mind. External disruptions are the top concerns, both in terms of likelihood and potential impact: 37% are specifically concerned about extreme weather or natural events hindering travel, while 32% are cognizant of local activities such as transport strikes or construction affecting guest access or operations. Interestingly, chains are marginally more concerned than independents on both fronts, with a difference of seven and five percentage points respectively.
Surprisingly, expanding or adapting facilities to include weather-independent amenities is the least adopted seasonality navigation strategy despite these factors being the top concern, but with 42%* of travelers already looking to avoid weather related disruptions by taking their trips outside of the traditional holiday season, attention is more focused on more commercial tactics.
Discounting stands out as the most widely-used and effective lever, with 72% of accommodations saying they offer off-season rates or packages with positive results. Diversified distribution strategies are often pursued, with 81% of hoteliers viewing online platforms as an effective channel for off-season demand, and organic social media (54%), paid search (50%), email campaigns (41%) and traditional media advertising (34%) all contributing to a broader mix.
Leaning into event-driven tourism is another popular route to alternative demand: 50% reported benefiting from event-driven travel in the past 12 months, with 14% describing the impact as significant. Among those that benefited, two-thirds (66%) cited improved revenue per room, while 60% reported increased bookings during typically low-demand periods, helping to offset weaker revenue at other times of the year.
“The 2026 European Accommodation Barometer shows a resilient industry that is adapting in real time to a changing landscape - from accelerated cyber risks to navigating climate related disruption and event-driven demand,” said Matthias Schmid, SVP Accommodations at Booking.com. “However, the findings also underscore potential fragmentation with differing experiences and pressures emerging across accommodations types and sizes. With that in mind, our goal remains to provide all of our accommodation partners with the insights, tools and partnership they need to thrive year-round, supporting industry growth across the board,”
