PKF hospitality group: Economy brands drive growth in the German hotel market

B&B HOTELS remains at the top. With 240 hotels, the budget brand continues to have the largest hotel portfolio in Germany and has gained 15 establishments compared to the previous year. Best Western follows in second place with 123 and Mercure with 87 hotels. Premier Inn moves up to fourth place with 68 hotels, followed by Motel One with 65 and ibis with 64 hotels.

The strongest expansion within a year is recorded by Garner. The IHG brand grows from 18 to 41 hotels and thus by 23 hotels. This is followed by B&B HOTELS with 15 additional hotels, elaya/Arthotel ANA with twelve and DORMERO with nine. On the other hand, Best Western recorded the largest decline with nine hotels; IntercityHotel, NH Hotels, ibis and Mercure are also reducing their portfolios.

"The German hotel brand market is not growing evenly, but is changing its structure at the same time. We see this particularly clearly in the economy segment. Brands are expanding, existing hotels are being repositioned and portfolios are being reorganized. This shows how intense the competition for scalable and clearly positioned concepts has become," says Ulrike Schüler, Managing Director and Head of Germany at PKF hospitality group.

The midscale segment continues to account for the largest share of the German brand hotel market, accounting for around 37 percent of the hotels surveyed. However, the strongest momentum comes from the economy segment: compared to the previous year, the segment grew by 44 hotels. The main drivers include Garner with 23 additional hotels, Coffee Fellows Hotels with eight, Premier Inn with seven and Motel One with four hotels. The budget segment also grew by nine hotels on balance. A similar picture can be seen in room capacity. B&B HOTELS also leads this ranking with 24,731 rooms, ahead of Motel One with 18,239 rooms. This is followed by Best Western with 12,761, Mercure with 12,572 and Premier Inn with 12,423 rooms. The economy segment recorded the strongest growth with an increase of 4,388 rooms and now has a share of 32.6 percent. Midscale remains the largest segment at 34.5 percent despite declining room numbers.

The change in the market is particularly visible in the five-year comparison, which is examined in depth for the first time. Among today's top 10 brands, Premier Inn has increased the number of its hotels from 36 to 68 since 2022, an increase of 89 percent. In the same period, DORMERO grew from 28 to 46 hotels or 64 percent, while B&B HOTELS grew from 151 to 240 hotels and thus by 59 percent. In contrast, ibis declined by 24 percent, Best Western by 20 percent and Mercure by eleven percent. The development in the number of rooms is even more pronounced. Premier Inn more than doubled its capacity from 6,155 to 12,423 rooms between 2022 and 2026. B&B HOTELS increased by 55 percent to 24,731 rooms, Holiday Inn – the niu by 44 percent to 8,869 rooms.

"The five-year comparison makes it clear that we are not only dealing with short-term shifts. Some brands have significantly expanded their presence in Germany in just a few years. At the same time, other established brands are losing houses and capacities. The market is not simply getting bigger, its weights are shifting. Since the cut-off date of our survey, a lot has happened again due to insolvencies and brand changes. It remains to be seen how this will be reflected in our next ranking," Schüler concludes.

The complete report with all rankings, segment developments and the five-year comparison can be found attached.