Short-stay rentals booked through major online platforms recorded strong growth across the European Union during the summer of 2025, according to new data published by Eurostat.

The figures point to sustained demand for platform-based accommodation during the peak travel season, reinforcing the importance of digital booking channels within Europe’s tourism and hospitality market.

The statistics form part of Eurostat’s experimental dataset tracking short-stay accommodation offered via large online platforms, providing insight into trends shaping competition between short-term rentals and traditional hotel accommodation across EU member states.

Online platform bookings increase across the EU

Between July and September 2025, guests spent an estimated 398.1 million nights in short-stay accommodation booked through online platforms in the EU.

This represented an 8.7% increase year on year and a 28.2% rise compared with the same period in 2023, reflecting continued expansion in platform-based tourism demand.

The data shows that online accommodation bookings continued to benefit from strong summer travel flows, with growth recorded across most member states.

The summer quarter remains the most active period for short-stay rentals, driven by leisure travel, cross-border tourism and domestic holidays.

Regional concentration in short-stay rental demand

Eurostat’s regional breakdown highlights a concentration of short-stay rental activity in a limited number of destinations. Southern and coastal regions, alongside major urban centres, accounted for a significant share of total guest nights booked via online platforms during the summer period.

Popular tourism regions in Spain, France and Croatia were among the highest-ranking areas for platform-based accommodation, underlining the continued appeal of established leisure destinations.

This pattern suggests that short-stay rental growth remains closely tied to seasonal tourism hotspots rather than evenly distributed across the EU.

Relevance for hotels and the wider accommodation market

For hotel operators and other accommodation providers, the continued rise in short-stay rental nights booked online highlights the competitive role of digital platforms in shaping consumer choice.

While hotels remain central to Europe’s tourism infrastructure, platform-based rentals are increasingly embedded in the travel booking process, particularly during peak seasons.

Eurostat notes that the experimental dataset complements existing tourism statistics by capturing accommodation activity outside traditional hotel reporting structures.

As regulatory scrutiny of short-term rentals increases across several EU cities, the data offers policymakers and industry stakeholders a clearer view of market scale, growth patterns and regional exposure.

The findings reinforce the role of online platforms as a permanent feature of Europe’s accommodation landscape, with implications for hotel pricing strategies, destination management and tourism regulation.