Europe’s independent hotels see earlier bookings, longer stays, and rising add-on revenue despite pricing pressures

(Breda, Netherlands) 1 October 2025 – RoomRaccoon, the leading hotel management system for independent hotels, today published its European Hotel Performance Report – Summer 2025, providing a detailed look at how properties across the continent performed over the peak summer season.

Drawing on data from more than 600,000 bookings from 2000 independent hotels in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Portugal from June to August, the report analyses year-on-year shifts in booking behavior, occupancy, rates, channel mix, and ancillary revenue, offering a clear picture of how travel trends are reshaping Europe’s hotel landscape.

• August remains the revenue peak: Hotels in Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands all recorded their highest ADR and RevPAR in August. Belgium and the UK stood out in July, while Spain’s peak came earlier, in June, with occupancy hitting nearly 79%.
• Guests are booking further in advance: Average booking lead time across Europe increased from 42 to 53 days, with the UK, Netherlands, and Spain showing the largest shifts. This trend gives hoteliers greater visibility into summer demand and more time to adjust pricing strategies.
• Travel patterns are diverging: In Southern Europe, longer summer holidays are gaining popularity. Spain saw a notable increase in stays of 5+ nights. Northern Europe remains a short-stay market, dominated by 1–2 night trips, though Germany saw modest growth in 3–4 night stays.
• Direct bookings stay strong: Direct channels secured the #1 spot in Belgium and the UK, while in the Netherlands and Germany, they now rival Booking.com for market share. Meanwhile, Google Hotel Ads broke into the top five booking channels, underscoring the growing importance of metasearch in performance marketing.
• Add-on revenue grows in importance: Independent hotels increasingly turned to upsells and extras to boost income. Add-ons such as parking, breakfast, late check-out, and curated guest experiences contributed a higher share of total revenue compared to 2024. Hotels that offered pre-bookable extras during the reservation process saw particularly strong results, helping to offset the decline in room rates.

Commenting on the data, Tymen van Dyl, the CEO and Founder at RoomRaccoon, said: “Summer 2025 proved that Europe’s independent hotels are busier than ever, but also more exposed to pricing pressures. The upside is that guests are booking further ahead, staying longer in some markets, and increasingly open to add-ons — giving hoteliers fresh ways to protect and grow revenue. For hotels, the challenge now is to be proactive: leveraging earlier demand visibility, fine-tuning rates with the assistance of AI pricing tools, and strengthening direct booking strategies to stay competitive.”

For a deeper dive into the data and market-specific insights, read the full European Hotel Performance Report – Summer 2025 from RoomRaccoon. 

About RoomRaccoon

RoomRaccoon is the hotel management system built to make independent hoteliers more – more bookings, more revenue, more efficient. Trusted by thousands of properties worldwide, our award-winning platform brings together property management, channel management, and conversion-focused booking and payment tools in one intuitive system. With hands-on support, 300+ integrations, and powerful native features like AI-powered pricing, automated upselling, and housekeeping management, RoomRaccoon gives ambitious hoteliers everything they need to scale smarter, faster, and with confidence.