Hotel night prices in Barcelona rise to €188 in 2024

The average price of a hotel night in Barcelona rose to €188 in 2024, from €174 in 2023, according to data from the Barcelona Hotel Guild. Though prices increased, hotels were less full compared to the previous year. The occupancy dropped a slight 1.4 percentage points to a total of 80.8%.  

Despite these facts, revenue hit record levels, reaching €2.2 billion. Jordi Clos, the president of the Barcelona Hotel Guild, stated that the overall year was ''extraordinary,'' because they observed an improvement in the profile of visitors. ''We no longer have problematic groups that harm the city's image,'' Clos said.  

The Barcelona Hotel Guild presented its 2024 report on Tuesday highlighting a "very positive" evolution across the sector. The guild's president praised the "change" seen in the type of tourists coming to the city, as current visitors are "better, less disruptive, and less burdensome for the city. This should be seen positively, as it is difficult to achieve" he said. 

In this regard, the executive stated that the slight decline in occupancy should not be a "concern," as it was "more sustained" in the second half of the year. "We need to work gradually to maintain our offering properly," he said. "We are improving the quality of our tourism," he added. 

Record number of visitors in January 2025 

Barcelona hotels are starting 2025 registering an all-time high in the number of visitors, with 1,063,163, according to data published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) on early Tuesday. This is an increase of 5.8% compared to 2024's January and marks the third time since 1999 that hotels have exceeded the one million visitors mark.   

The number of overnight stays also reached an all-time high, with more than 2.3 million overnight stays in January 2025. The average length of stay for visitors is 2.25 days, down slightly from last year’s average of 2.28 days.  Staying in a hotel has also become more expensive, with the average daily price of €119.09, an increase of 11.46% since 2020, when the average price was €86.95.  

Vall d’Aran saw the highest price increase and Barcelona came in second. Overnight stays concentrated in Barcelona. The hotels in Catalonia saw increases in all regions in January 2025 but the southern region of Tarragona fell 5.6% compared to the same period last year. 77% of all overnight stays were concentrated in Barcelona, followed by Girona. 

According to the data, Catalonia was the third most popular destination to visit for Spanish residents, after Andalusia and the Autonomous Community of Madrid. For foreigners, Catalonia was the second most popular destination tailing the Canary Islands. 

Also the Mobile World Congress, hosted by the city of Barcelona is an aspect that will effect occupancy numbers. Described as ''undoubtedly'' the ''most important congress'' the Barcelona Hotel Guild specified that the event's organizers have reserved 21,000 hotel rooms, 1,000 more than last year. ''It's one of the best weeks of the year,'' Clos said.