French independent lodgings raised summer room rates enough to lift available-room revenue 1.8%

Independent lodging operators in France raised room prices during the summer even as occupancy slipped, according to an Amenitiz study covering stays from July 1 to August 31, 2026. The data points to a market where higher rates were enough to keep revenue moving up despite weaker use of available rooms.

In France, average occupancy at independent properties in the sample was 64.8%, down 1.3 percentage points from the same period in 2025. Over the same two months, the average price per sold night rose 3.8% to 145 euros. Revenue per available room, a measure that combines pricing and occupancy, increased 1.8% to 94 euros.

The figures suggest that French operators were able to protect summer revenue mainly through pricing rather than fuller rooms. Occupancy fell, but the increase in rates was large enough to offset part of that decline. The result was modest growth in revenue per available room rather than a contraction.

The study matters because it looks at a part of the market that often receives less attention than large hotel chains. Amenitiz said its database included 9,312 client establishments, with year-over-year changes calculated on a matched group of 7,516 properties present in both years. The sample covers hotels, guesthouses and rural accommodations. It is not a national census, and the company does not present it as a full representation of every lodging business in each country.

The report also compared France with independent properties in Spain, Italy and Portugal. Among those markets, Spain stood out in the figures reviewed because occupancy and pricing improved at the same time. Spanish properties in the sample posted occupancy of 68.3%, up 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier, while the average nightly rate climbed 5.6% to 126 euros. Revenue per available room in Spain rose 6.7%, compared with 1.8% in France, a gap of 4.9 percentage points in growth.

That contrast shows two different summer patterns inside the same broad independent lodging segment. In France, operators raised prices against softer room fill. In Spain, higher prices came with stronger occupancy, producing faster revenue growth. The French average nightly rate was still higher in absolute terms at 145 euros versus 126 euros in Spain, but Spanish operators in the sample got more support from demand.

The figures are nominal and reported in euros, meaning they are not adjusted for inflation. That is important when reading pricing gains, because part of any increase can reflect cost pass-through rather than stronger underlying demand. Even so, the French data still shows a clear divergence between rate growth and occupancy, with price increases doing most of the work.

The findings were reported by La Tribune de l’Hôtellerie on Nov. 7, based on an Amenitiz report dated October 2026. The source material reviewed did not provide a specific publication day in October for the original report. The publication’s interest lies in the independent segment, where changes in pricing and occupancy can differ from the patterns seen in chain-based industry reports.

Because the dataset is based on Amenitiz clients rather than a random national sample, the results should be read as a measure of trends inside that portfolio, not as a definitive reading of the entire French, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese lodging markets. Differences in the mix of hotels, guesthouses and rural properties can affect country comparisons, especially when average rates and occupancy are moving in opposite directions.