Amsterdam Market Pulse 2026 – A Taxing Time for Damsko

Snapshot of the Amsterdam hotel market in 2026 with an exploration of tourism demand, hotel performance, hotel supply, the investment market and the market outlook.

Few cities enjoy Amsterdam's global appeal. Renowned for its canals, cultural heritage and liberal character, the Dutch capital attracts millions of visitors each year while also serving as a major European business hub. Combined with excellent international connectivity, this diverse mix of leisure and corporate demand underpins one of Europe's more established hotel markets.

Tourism Demand

Amsterdam’s tourism growth continued in 2024 and 2025, with visitation surpassing historical levels. In 2024, the city welcomed 9.3 million visitors, up 4.9% on 2023 and above 2019 volumes, driven primarily by international demand. Growth continued in 2025, with visitation rising a further 1.6% to around 3% above 2019 levels. While US demand rebounded strongly in 2025 from a small decline in 2024, domestic tourism softened, partly reflecting the impact of the January 2024 increase in city tax (from circa 7.0% to 12.5% of room price).

The Centraal Bureau voor der Statistiek (CBS) accommodation statistics indicate that bednights increased by roughly 20% between 2019 and 2025, outpacing visitor growth and implying higher accommodation utilisation per visitor. While Amsterdam-specific breakdowns by accommodation type are not published, external hotel data indicates that hotel demand in Amsterdam only broadly returned to 2019 levels by 2023, suggesting a relatively subdued hotel-led recovery. Given this and consistent national CBS trends, where bednight growth since 2019 has been strongest in campsites and holiday parks, it is reasonable to infer that a significant share of the post-2019 increase in bednights is driven by non-hotel accommodation.

Hotel Performance

Amsterdam’s hotel market experienced sustained pressure in 2024 and 2025, as higher tourism-related taxes and VAT changes weighed on performance. Demand has continued to grow, while average rates declined in both years. As a result, RevPAR growth for central Amsterdam has lagged inflation, equating to an estimated 13% real-terms decline versus 2019. Early indications suggest the VAT increase implemented in January 2026 (from 9% to 21%) may further amplify these dynamics, with year-to-date data showing additional average rate softening relative to already weaker 2025 levels and forecast data from hotels pointing to RevPAR declines that range from 2-5% on average.

Occupancy in 2026 to date has nevertheless remained relatively resilient, indicating that operators are prioritising volume retention through rate discounting rather than allowing material occupancy erosion. In response, some hotels have also shifted a greater share of package revenue towards food and beverage, which benefits from a lower VAT rate, partially offsetting overall revenue pressure.

In addition to the recent increase in VAT, the municipality is considering a further rise in the city tax above the current 12.5%. If approved, the tax would increase to 16% in 2027, followed by annual one percentage point increases to reach 20% by 2031. Combined, these measures would further entrench Amsterdam as one of the most heavily taxed hotel markets globally and reinforce the city’s demand-management approach through taxation. While operators will seek to recover these additional costs through higher room rates, their ability to fully pass them on to guests is constrained by price sensitivity and competitive market dynamics. This challenge is particularly pronounced in segments that are more discretionary in nature, such as leisure travel, where travellers may be more inclined to adjust destination choices in response to rising accommodation costs.

The cumulative impact of these increasing costs is also being felt in the meetings and events segment. As Amsterdam becomes a more expensive destination, it faces growing competition from other European capitals that are actively seeking to attract new MICE business and can often offer a more competitive cost base. At the same time, inflationary pressures and rising payroll costs continue to erode operating margins across the sector. Although strong opposition from industry stakeholders is expected, the overall direction of travel remains clear: hotel operators are likely to face an increasingly challenging pricing environment, with limited scope for meaningful relief in the near term.

Hotel Supply

Stemming from efforts to curb overtourism, measures implementing restrictive zoning laws are yielding results following the nearly 25% increase in supply observed over the past decade, with the majority of the supply increase in the outer parts of Amsterdam, while the city centre remains very restricted, representing 23% of the supply increase. These restrictions have progressively tightened over time, evolving from selected restricted zones introduced under the 2017 hotel policy, to broader restrictions across the city centre and other key districts in 2021-22, before culminating in a municipality-wide policy in 2024. Under the current ‘one in, one out’ framework, any new hotel supply must replace existing capacity and meet higher sustainability standards, making it unsurprising to see a growing pipeline of full-scale renovations. Reflecting its proudly held Lennon and Ono Bed-In for Peace heritage, the Hilton Amsterdam, for example, is currently closed for an extensive refurbishment. As for what the hotel will ultimately look like, and whether it will be rebranded upon its reopening in 2028, one can only… imagine.

Investment Market

The Netherlands remained one of Europe’s ten most active hotel investment markets in 2025, recording €590 million in transaction volume, a 3% increase on 2024. While the 2024 transaction volume was mainly supported by portfolio transactions, the balance switched in 2025 with a high majority of single-asset transactions and a decline in portfolio transaction volume of nearly 50%. Conversely, single-asset transaction volume increased by almost 90%, highlighting growing investor interest in individual hotel assets. This dynamic was true in 2025 at a European level. More than 2,800 hotel rooms changed hands during the year, with the average price per room rising 6% to €210,000. Amsterdam dominated investment activity in the Netherlands, accounting for 59% of all hotel transactions. Key single-asset deals in the last two years included the sale of the 163-room Avani Museum Quarter Amsterdam Hotel to Pontegadea for €85 million (€521,000 per room) and the acquisition of a 33% stake in the Crowne Plaza Symphony, implying a total property value of €58.1 million. Key portfolio deals over the same period included Tristan Capital’s acquisition of the easyHotel portfolio in mid-2025 which included three hotels in the greater Amsterdam area and Fattal Hotels’ mid-2024 acquisition of the Eden Hotel Group, composed of 12 hotels, including five properties in Amsterdam, for €360 million.

Outlook

The municipality’s mantra of ‘Amsterdam for Amsterdammers’ rings as loud and true now as it ever has. Overtourism remains a very real concern and, having largely exhausted measures to constrain hotel supply, the municipality has turned its attention to efforts to curb demand, first through increases in city tax and more recently via VAT adjustments. This belt-and-braces approach has clearly weighed on average rate growth in recent years, and uncertainty remains over the full impact of the new VAT regime, particularly when considered alongside the prospect of additional tax increases. In the near term, this creates a more challenging operating environment for hoteliers as the market continues to adjust to a tighter fiscal and regulatory framework. Nevertheless, and despite broader macroeconomic and policy headwinds, Amsterdam retains enduring appeal and a resilient tourism base that is unlikely to fade. The above-average growth in visitation and bednights in the city are testament to this. Over the longer term, hoteliers will look to steadily improving demand fundamentals and constrained supply growth to support a gradual recovery in average rates in a market with strong fundamentals.