Thursday, 10 September 2026
Poland’s accommodation market recorded a stronger summer season in 2026, adding to evidence of improving hospitality demand while hotel investors remain selective about acquisitions. Preliminary data from Statistics Poland show that tourist accommodation establishments generated 29.4 million overnight stays in July and August, an increase of 3.7% compared with the same period last year.
Around 10 million tourists used accommodation establishments during the two summer months, 2.5% more than a year earlier. With overnight stays increasing faster than visitor numbers, the figures indicate a modest increase in the average length of stay. The statistics cover the wider accommodation sector rather than hotels alone, but they provide a positive demand indicator for hospitality properties during Poland’s most important leisure period.
The improvement follows a positive first half for hotel operators. Cushman & Wakefield data show that revenue per available room in Poland increased 4.6% year-on-year in H1 2026. Growth was slower than the 8.2% recorded across the CEE-6 markets but exceeded the 3% increase reported across Europe.
Investment activity has been moving in the opposite direction. Four Polish hotels comprising 445 rooms changed ownership during the first half of 2026, generating approximately €59 million of transactions. This was 24% below the corresponding period of 2025, suggesting that improving hotel performance has yet to produce a broad acceleration in property investment.
The geographical spread of recent deals nevertheless indicates that investors are looking beyond Warsaw. Transactions included the 173-room Hampton by Hilton Krakow Airport, the 89-room IBB Hotel Gdańsk and the 133-room Havet Hotel Resort & Spa in Dźwirzyno. The acquisitions span an airport location, a major regional city and a Baltic leisure destination, demonstrating the different demand profiles available outside the capital.
This could become increasingly important as investors assess whether Poland’s tourism growth can support a wider range of regional hotel markets. Kraków and Gdańsk combine international tourism with domestic and business demand, while Baltic destinations offer exposure to Poland’s expanding leisure market but carry greater seasonal risk.
Warsaw faces a different investment equation. Hotel room supply in the capital is forecast to increase 7.2% during 2026, the fastest expansion among the CEE-6 capitals. Despite the growing pipeline, Warsaw has maintained strong occupancy, suggesting that demand has so far been capable of absorbing additional capacity.
For investors, stronger visitor numbers alone are not sufficient to justify acquisitions or new developments. The ability of individual hotels to maintain occupancy and room rates throughout the year, together with operating costs, financing conditions, competition and new supply, will ultimately determine investment returns. Regional markets therefore need to demonstrate that summer demand can translate into sustainable annual revenues rather than simply stronger peak-season performance.
The contrast between improving operating indicators and lower transaction volumes is becoming one of the more important features of Poland’s hotel market in 2026. Investors are still buying, but capital is concentrating on properties where location, operating performance and demand provide sufficient protection against higher financing and operating costs.
Poland’s stronger summer season consequently provides another positive signal for hospitality property without yet establishing a broad investment recovery. If tourism demand continues to expand and regional hotels demonstrate stronger year-round performance, the next stage of the investment cycle could extend further beyond Warsaw into Poland’s established regional cities and leisure destinations.
