Europe endured its worst heatwave on record during the week ending 27 June, with temperatures breaking records across nearly 20 countries — yet hotel occupancy across the region showed little to no negative impact, according to CoStar data.

High-end hotel occupancy rose year over year every night of that week, reflecting continued international inbound travel plus corporate and group demand. Select-service and budget hotels did report midweek occupancy declines, but Thursday-to-Saturday growth points to rising leisure travel.

The heat began around 20 June in the Iberian Peninsula and spread north over the following week. Elevated overnight temperatures, buildings designed to trap heat, and housing stock built without air conditioning made the week dangerous for residents. Museums and attractions closed early or entirely on the hottest days. Hotels, far more likely to have air conditioning than European homes, sat in a different position.

Did the heatwave shift demand between markets?

Southern and Eastern European capitals posted the highest weekly occupancy growth, while Northern destinations mostly lost occupancy against 2025. But many of those markets were already following trends set over the previous three weeks, suggesting limited to no heatwave effect.

Amsterdam, Brussels, and Prague outperformed their monthly averages on double-digit weekend occupancy growth — a pattern consistent with staycations, as residents fled overheated homes for temperature-controlled hotels.

Even the worst performers showed no clear heat signal. Bratislava, the Oslo area, Tallinn, and Vilnius posted larger declines, but event offsets and high supply growth explain most of the drops.

Coastal markets told the opposite story. Nine of ten coastal markets reported occupancy growth significantly above their three-week trend, driven by heat plus normal seasonality.

Cyprus recorded the biggest turnaround, helped in part by the peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Occupancy on the island had been falling since March and dropped 9.2% year over year through the first three weeks of June before reversing.

How did France's hotels perform in extreme heat?

France recorded the continent's highest temperature last week, yet its hotels outperformed. National occupancy rose 2.0% to 79.9% — the highest growth rate among Europe's big five countries and one of the best on the continent.

Growth was broad-based, spanning Paris and other cities, with coastal markets performing best. The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity lifted the Antibes/Cannes submarket: occupancy jumped 15.2% year over year to 88.5%, the third-highest level among all French submarkets.

Segment data reveals the staycation effect. Luxury and upper-upscale occupancy climbed 5.2% for the week, closely followed by midscale and economy hotels at 3.6%. That economy-class growth is telling: midscale and economy occupancy had been flat to down through the rest of June and only turned positive in the last week, as residents sought budget-friendly relief from the heat. At market level, midscale and economy hotels posted the highest occupancy growth of any class in seven of 11 French markets.

Why did Paris top all of Europe?

Fashion week, held over the same days last year, pushed Paris occupancy to 91.3% — the highest weekly occupancy of any European market. Midweek occupancy ran flat to down, but weekends rose 3.1% year over year, lifting the full week 0.7% against 2025.

The modest declines are almost certainly not heat-related. Paris occupancy averaged 92.2% from Monday through Wednesday, and small year-over-year fluctuations are common at such high base levels. Four of eight Paris submarkets reported declining occupancy, but all four had posted similar declines over the first three weeks of June, again pointing away from the weather.

What happens next?

Heatwaves of this intensity are becoming more frequent in Europe, and the week ending 27 June offers a template for how demand redistributes when they hit: coastal markets and air-conditioned midscale and economy properties gain, while city-centre performance holds on corporate, group, and event demand. Operators with climate control and coastal exposure stand to capture the staycation surge as summer temperatures continue to test the continent's building stock.