Munich, Germany: Germany's hotel brand market is not simply expanding; it is quietly reorganising itself around one segment, and the scale of that shift only becomes visible when you compare where brands stood five years ago against where they stand today. The latest ranking from PKF hospitality group, conducted annually as of 31 March and covering hotel brands with at least ten properties in Germany, confirms B&B HOTELS remains the country's largest hotel brand with 240 hotels, up 15 on the previous year, ahead of Best Western with 123 and Mercure with 87. Premier Inn climbed to fourth place with 68 hotels, followed by Motel One with 65 and ibis with 64.
The sharpest single-year growth came from Garner, the IHG brand that expanded from 18 to 41 hotels, adding 23 properties in just twelve months. B&B HOTELS added 15 hotels, elaya/Arthotel ANA added 12 and DORMERO added nine, while Best Western shed nine hotels and IntercityHotel, NH Hotels, ibis and Mercure all contracted. "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 reorganised. This shows how intense the competition for scalable and clearly positioned concepts has become," said Ulrike Schüler, Managing Director and Head of Germany at PKF hospitality group.
What deserves closer attention from investors and developers is the five-year comparison PKF examined in depth for the first time, because it reveals this is a structural repricing of the German hotel market rather than a one-year blip. Premier Inn grew from 36 to 68 hotels since 2022, an 89% increase, while more than doubling its room capacity from 6,155 to 12,423 rooms. DORMERO grew 64% to 46 hotels, and B&B HOTELS expanded 59% to 240 hotels and 24,731 rooms, a 55% capacity increase. Over the same period, ibis declined 24%, Best Western fell 20% and Mercure dropped 11%, meaning established midscale operators are actively losing ground to scalable, clearly positioned economy concepts rather than simply growing more slowly.
The midscale segment still holds the largest overall share at 37% of surveyed hotels and 34.5% of rooms, but the economy segment delivered the strongest momentum, growing by 44 hotels and 4,388 rooms year on year to reach a 32.6% share of total room capacity. Garner, Coffee Fellows Hotels, Premier Inn and Motel One led that economy expansion, with budget brands adding a further nine hotels on balance. For developers assessing where German hotel real estate demand is concentrating, this convergence of brand growth, rising room counts and declining market share among established midscale names points toward sustained development and conversion opportunity specifically within economy and budget-positioned assets, rather than the broader hospitality sector as a whole.
"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 concluded.
PKF hospitality group is an internationally recognised market leader in hotel and tourism consulting, with around 100 consultants across 20 offices on every continent and almost 100 years of experience, offering feasibility studies, valuations, operator search, project development, financing, asset management and research across hotel, serviced living, tourism and leisure investments.
People mentioned
- Ulrike Schüler, Managing Director and Head of Germany, PKF hospitality group
Image Source: Coffee Fellows Hotels, Premier Hotel, Munich
Companies mentioned
- PKF hospitality group, hotel and tourism consulting firm behind the ranking
- B&B HOTELS, Germany's largest hotel brand by portfolio size
- Premier Inn, fastest-growing top-10 brand by five-year percentage increase
- Garner, IHG economy brand recording the strongest single-year hotel growth
- Motel One, economy brand among the top German hotel operators
- Coffee Fellows Hotels, economy brand driving segment growth
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