Short stays, softer rates and OTA scramble: The year so far in hotels

A shake-up in booking behaviour, shrinking price power and rising operating costs are redefining hotel performance in 2025, according to a new global report from Duetto and Cloudbeds.

The first-ever Hotel Market Pulse draws on thousands of properties worldwide, comparing booking and profitability trends from January–July 2025 with the same period last year. The result? A clear snapshot of how travellers are booking, how hotels are performing, and where pressure points are emerging.

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OTAs reshuffle the deck

Online travel agencies remain the world’s biggest demand drivers, but the report reveals a noticeable power shift:

• Expedia jumped nearly 12 percent in room nights, strengthening its lead in global demand.

• Rising players Trip.com, Hotelbeds and Despegar surged more than 35 percent, highlighting strong international and wholesale movement.

• Meanwhile, some long-standing giants—including Booking.com, Agoda and Vrbo—lost ground.

The data points to a more fragmented OTA marketplace, with travellers hunting harder for value and hoteliers leaning into a broader mix of channels.

But while bookings continued, pricing power didn’t. Even modest ADR growth on the major OTAs couldn’t counter declines elsewhere, including:

• 10 percent down on Vrbo

• 5 percent down on Hotelbeds

• 2 percent down on Airbnb

When inflation is factored in, “real ADR” (Average Daily Rate) actually fell for many properties; a clear sign of rising price sensitivity.

Short stays are becoming more common as well. The average length of stay dipped every month from January to July, with travellers opting for shorter, more frequent getaways.

Read about boosting direct bookings in AccomNews HERE

Revenue lifts, but labour keeps biting

Despite softer top-line rates, hotels still found ways to grow total revenue:

• TRevPAR T(Total Revenue per Available Room) rose across all regions, led by Latin America (+4.6 percent), North America (+3.5 percent) and Europe (+2.5 percent).

• F&B continues to pull the biggest weight in ancillary revenue generation.

• GOPPAR (Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room) increased in every region, with North America up 2.9 percent, Latin America up 1.3 percent and Europe rising 1.2 percent.

Still, cost pressures — especially labour — remain stubborn:

• North America’s labour costs rose 4.6 percent, now 47 percent of total operating expenses.

• Europe moved even higher, with a 3.9 percent increase, pushing labour to 60 percent of total costs.

“Data is human” — and it’s telling a new story

Cloudbeds Chief Growth Officer Rafael Blanes says the findings reinforce the need for sharper insights.

“Data is human — it reflects real traveller intent and behaviour,” he said. “This collaboration with Duetto transforms that data into contextual intelligence, helping hoteliers anticipate change, make smarter decisions, and unlock more profitable growth.”

Jason Hofmann, Chief Customer Officer at Duetto, added that the joint dataset offers a clearer picture of why traveller behaviour is shifting — and the real operational impacts behind it.

What operators should be watching

For hoteliers, the report flags several standout trends:

• Distribution strategies need fine-tuning as OTAs jockey for position.

• Consumers are more price-conscious, requiring smarter revenue and segmentation strategies.

• Labour remains the cost elephant in the room, demanding efficiency and technology-driven solutions.

• Shorter stays may reshape packaging, upselling and operational planning.

Duetto and Cloudbeds say the Hotel Market Pulse marks the beginning of a deeper, ongoing collaboration designed to give hotel operators clearer, more actionable performance intelligence.

To read all the findings of the report, click here.