EU Short-Term Rental Nights Rise 5.3% in Q2, but Spain and Portugal Lag Far Behind

Guests spent 258.8 million nights in short-term rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking and Expedia across the European Union in the second quarter of 2026, up 5.3% on the same quarter of 2025, according to official EU figures published on 2 October. That is 13.1 million more nights than a year earlier and 50.0 million more than in Q2 2024, a two-year gain of 23.9%.

Growth was far from even. Poland led the largest markets at 8.9%, followed by Greece at 8.3%, Italy at 8.1%, Germany at 6.5% and France at 6.2%. Portugal grew 2.6% and Spain just 1.9%, both well under the EU average and, in Spain’s case, at roughly a third of the pace.

The numbers at a glance

Indicator	Q2 2026
EU guest nights	258.8 million
Change vs Q2 2025	+5.3% (+13.1 million nights)
Change vs Q2 2024	+23.9% (+50.0 million nights)
Estimated Q2 2025 base	about 245.7 million nights
Q1 2026 for comparison	144.3 million nights, +9.7% year on year

Major markets: volume versus momentum

Absolute nights tell a different story from percentages. The table below shows the largest markets with their share of EU nights and an estimate of how many extra nights each added versus Q2 2025.

Market	Q2 2026 nights	Share of EU	Growth YoY	Estimated extra nights
France	55.96 million	21.6%	+6.2%	3.3 million
Spain	48.92 million	18.9%	+1.9%	0.9 million
Italy	42.94 million	16.6%	+8.1%	3.2 million
Germany	20.29 million	7.8%	+6.5%	1.2 million
Greece	14.57 million	5.6%	+8.3%	1.1 million
Portugal	14.01 million	5.4%	+2.6%	0.4 million
Malta	2.70 million	1.0%	+25.0%	0.5 million

Extra nights are derived from the reported growth rates and rounded, so treat them as estimates.

Five ways to read the data

1. Who really added the nights. France and Italy together contributed about 6.5 million extra nights, close to half of the entire EU increase. Spain holds 18.9% of EU nights but delivered only about 7% of the growth. Had Spain grown at the EU average of 5.3%, it would have added roughly 1.6 million more nights.

2. Percentages versus base effects. Malta’s 25% jump is the fastest in the bloc, yet it translates into about 0.5 million nights, still more than Portugal’s roughly 0.4 million. Large, mature markets rarely post double-digit growth, so a low percentage in Spain and Portugal partly reflects the size of the base they are growing from.

3. Momentum is fading. Growth slowed from 9.7% in Q1 2026 to 5.3% in Q2. The quarters differ in seasonality and base, but the direction matters: the second quarter is about 1.8 times bigger than the first, so the same increase in nights now produces a smaller percentage.

4. Concentration is high. France, Spain and Italy account for 57.1% of EU platform-booked nights. The seven markets above together represent 77.0%, leaving about 59 million nights, or 23%, for the rest of the bloc. In Q1 the ten most visited regions sat in just three countries, five in Spain, three in France and two in Italy.

5. The long tail is where growth is. Smaller and mid-sized markets posted the strongest rates, while a handful of tourism-heavy destinations went backwards.

Market	Growth YoY, Q2 2026	Position
Malta	+25%	Above EU average
Slovakia	+17%	Above EU average
Slovenia	+12.9%	Above EU average
Romania	+11.4%	Above EU average
Czechia	+9.3%	Above EU average
Poland	+8.9%	Above EU average
Lithuania	+8.8%	Above EU average
Greece	+8.3%	Above EU average
Italy	+8.1%	Above EU average
Germany	+6.5%	Above EU average
France	+6.2%	Above EU average
Portugal	+2.6%	Below EU average
Spain	+1.9%	Below EU average
Hungary	-2%	Decline
Cyprus	-2.4%	Decline
Austria	-3%	Decline
Iceland	-4.5%	Decline

Cyprus is a notable swing: it passed 1 million platform-booked nights in Q1 2026 and then slipped 2.4% in Q2.

What operators can take from it

Reading	Practical takeaway
Spain and Portugal grew below 3%	Flat occupancy there means tracking the market, not underperforming. Compare your own year-on-year nights with the national rate before judging results.
Italy and Greece grew above 8%	Flat nights in these markets mean losing share. Review pricing, listing quality and distribution if your growth sits below the market.
Slow demand growth in large markets	When demand grows less than supply, extra nights are won on yield, not volume. Prioritise average daily rate, length-of-stay rules and direct bookings over discounting.
Growth slowed from Q1 to Q2	Stress-test autumn and winter forecasts against lower growth rather than extending the Q1 pace.
Fast growth in small and mid-sized markets	Diversification options exist in Poland, Czechia, Slovenia and Romania, but volumes are thinner and exit liquidity is lower, so size entries carefully.
Concentration in three countries	A portfolio built only in France, Spain and Italy is exposed to the same demand cycle. Add uncorrelated markets or segments to smooth results.

What the data does not cover

The figures count guest nights, meaning each guest is counted for every night of the stay, and only for stays booked through Airbnb, Booking and Expedia. Direct bookings, other platforms and offline channels are not included, and the numbers do not measure the number of properties. The data also reflects demand, not profitability: nights can rise while rates or margins fall.

The next quarterly release, covering the peak summer months, will show whether the slowdown seen in Q2 is a pause or a trend.

Cover photo: Raymond Petrik on Unsplash