Press release: Hotel chains dominate Dutch market
Date: 20. December 2018
Press release European Chains & Hotels Report 2018
Hotel chains dominate Dutch market
Research by consulting firm Horwath HTL shows that the hotel market in the Netherlands is dominated by hotel chains. National and international chains represent 59% of all hotel rooms in the Netherlands. The Netherlands have the highest chain penetration rate in Europe, followed by Spain, Croatia, United Kingdom and France.
Highest chain penetration rate in Europe
A total of 663 hotels in the Netherlands are part of a national or international hotel chain. This is 19% of the total number of hotels. The chain hotels offer a total of 76,133 hotel rooms, or 59% of the total supply. This means that the Netherlands have the highest chain penetration rate in Europe, followed by Spain with 33%, Croatia with 53%, United Kingdom with 49% and France with 48%. This is shown in the European Chains & Hotel Report 2018 from consulting firm Horwath HTL.
The chain hotels in the Netherlands offer an average of 115 hotel rooms per hotel, and are considerably larger than the average Dutch hotel. This explains why the hotel chains represent 19% of the hotels but 59% of the hotel rooms in the Netherlands. In other European city this difference is even larger: in the United Kingdom, hotel chains represent only 8% of all hotels, but 49% of all hotel rooms. This is also true for hotel chains in Germany (10% of hotels, 37% of hotel rooms), Switzerland (6% of hotels, 23% of hotel rooms) and Italy (5% of hotels, 15% of hotel rooms).
Chain penetration in European hotel markets (by penetration of number of hotel rooms)
| No. | Country | Number of chain hotels | Number of rooms | Penetration hotels | Penetration rooms |
| 1 | The Netherlands | 663 | 76,133 | 19% | 59% |
| 2 | Spain | 2,453 | 386,771 | 33% | 56% |
| 3 | Croatia | 167 | 30,808 | 24% | 53% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 3,520 | 373,000 | 8% | 49% |
| 5 | France | 3,816 | 319,561 | 21% | 48% |
| 6 | Ireland | 183 | 23,878 | 22% | 41% |
| 7 | Germany | 2,078 | 301,045 | 10% | 37% |
| 8 | Poland | 342 | 47,484 | 14% | 37% |
| 9 | Hungary | 140 | 20,567 | 13% | 33% |
| 10 | Switzerland | 272 | 30,109 | 6% | 23% |
| 11 | Italy | 1,488 | 164,196 | 5% | 15% |
| 12 | Cyprus | 8 | 5,499 | 4% | 10% |
Source: Horwath HTL
Van der Valk is largest hotel chain, Fletcher the fastest growing
A total of 107 hotel brands are active in the Dutch hotel market, 8 more than a year before. Of the brands, 39 are owned by Dutch hotel chains and 68 are owned by international hotel chains. Of the 663 chain hotels in the Netherlands, 262 are part of an international hotel chain while 447 are part of a Dutch hotel chain. Some 46 hotels are part of both a Dutch chain and an international chain, through various contracts. The international hotel chains represent 40% of the chain affiliated hotels and 45% of the chain affiliated hotel rooms in the Netherlands.
Compared to last year, 23 new chain hotels were added in the Netherlands (+3.6%), with a total of 3,666 hotel rooms (+5.1%). International chains in the Netherlands added 16 hotels with 2,890 hotel rooms, while national chains added 11 hotels with 1,298 hotel rooms. Four new hotels are part of both a national and an international hotel chain.
The largest hotel chain in the Netherlands is Van der Valk, offering 70 hotels and 9,880hotel rooms. The largest international hotel chain in the Netherlands is Accor, in second place with 46 hotels and 7,977 hotel rooms. The top 5 is completed by NH Hotel Group (36 hotels, 6,874 rooms), Fletcher (87 hotels, 5,004 rooms) and IHG (20 hotels, 3,610 rooms).
All hotels in the hotel chain Van der Valk are operated under the brand name Van der Valk, which is also the larges hotel brand in the Netherlands. Hotel chains such as Accor offer a mix of hotel brands, including Ibis, Novotel and Sofitel. As a result, the number of hotels and hotel rooms per brand is smaller. After Van der Valk, the most common brands are NH (31 hotels, 5,615 rooms), Fletcher (87 hotels, 5,004 rooms), Bastion (31 hotels, 3,119 rooms) and Best Western (28 hotels, 2,242 rooms).
The Dutch hotel chain Fletcher is the fastest growing hotel chain in the Netherlands. In number of hotels, Fletcher’s 87 hotels surpass Van der Valk’s 70. However, as most Fletcher hotels are relatively small, the chain is fourth in number of hotel rooms.
Top 10 hotel chains in the Netherlands
| No. | Hotel chain | Hotels | Rooms |
| 1 | Van der Valk | 70 | 9,880 |
| 2 | AccorHotels | 46 | 7,977 |
| 3 | NH Hotels | 36 | 6,874 |
| 4 | Fletcher | 87 | 5,004 |
| 5 | InterContinental Hotel Group | 20 | 3,610 |
| 6 | Louvre | 45 | 3,545 |
| 7 | Bastion Hotel Group | 32 | 3,312 |
| 8 | Marriott International | 13 | 2,843 |
| 9 | Hilton | 12 | 2,690 |
| 10 | Radisson Hotel Group | 11 | 2,394 |
Source: Horwath HTL
Top 10 hotel brands in the Netherlands
| No. | Hotel brand | Hotels | Rooms |
| 1 | Van der Valk | 70 | 9,880 |
| 2 | NH | 31 | 5,615 |
| 3 | Fletcher | 87 | 5,004 |
| 4 | Bastion | 31 | 3,119 |
| 5 | Best Western | 28 | 2,242 |
| 6 | Ibis | 11 | 2,182 |
| 7 | Novotel | 9 | 1,874 |
| 8 | The Student Hotel | 7 | 1,766 |
| 9 | Bilderberg | 17 | 1,696 |
| 10 | Golden Tulip | 19 | 1,610 |
Source: Horwath HTL
Chain penetration is highest at Schiphol, lowest in Valkenburg
Most chain hotels are located in the major cities. In the 10 Dutch cities with the largest hotel supply, the average chain penetration is 71%. The highest penetration rate was reported at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: 100% of all hotel rooms at the airport are chain affiliated. In Amsterdam, which is the largest city in number of hotel rooms, the chain penetration is 70%. In cities such as Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Maastricht, the penetration rate is between 60% and 70%. Valkenburg, with 1,750 hotel rooms the 8th hotel city in the Netherlands, has a chain penetration of only 15%.
Top 10 hotel cities in the Netherlands, by chain penetration
| No. | City | Rooms | Chain affiliated | Chain penetration |
| 1 | Schiphol | 1,711 | 1,711 | 100% |
| 2 | Hoofddorp | 2,709 | 2,639 | 97% |
| 3 | Eindhoven | 2,272 | 1,965 | 86% |
| 4 | Den Haag | 4,816 | 3,850 | 80% |
| 5 | Rotterdam | 5,778 | 4,307 | 75% |
| 6 | Amsterdam | 32,266 | 22,537 | 70% |
| 7 | Utrecht | 1,945 | 1,300 | 67% |
| 8 | Maastricht | 2,641 | 1,640 | 62% |
| 9 | Noordwijk | 1,419 | 484 | 34% |
| 10 | Valkenburg | 1,747 | 266 | 15% |
Source: Horwath HTL
European hotel market
At a European level, large scale changes are happening in the hotel market. Two of the largest American htoel chains, Marriott and Starwood, merged in September 2016. The consequences of this merger are now visible in the development and spread of hotel brands. Meanwhile, the French hotel chain Accor has acquired several smaller brands in order to increase its market coverage. The British hotel chain InterContinental Hotel Group bought the boutique brand Kimpton, and introduced it in the Untied Kingdom and other European countries. In October 2018, the Spanish NH Hotel Group was acquired by Thai hotel chain Minor International, for a total amount of € 2.3 billion.
With over 76,000 chain affiliated hotel rooms, the Netherlands represent 4% of the total chain affiliated hotel supply in Europe. Countries with the largest share in the European chain hotel market are Spain (22%), United Kingdom (21%), France (18%) and Germany (17%).
In almost all European countries included in the research, the number of chain affiliated hotels has increased. In Italy, the number of chain hotels increased by 6%, in Germany, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Switzerland and the Netherlands by 3%. France and the United Kingdom did not show an increase, possibly due to the already very large number of chain hotels in these countries.
European Chains & Hotels Report 2018
The European Chains & Hotels Report 2018 was published by consulting firm Horwath HTL. The report presents 12 European hotel markets, which are analyed with regard to the growth of the number of chain hotels and the split between local and international chains.
Horwath HTL
Horwath HTL is an international consulting firm for Hotels, Tourism and Leisure, with 45 offices in 36 countries. In the Netherlands, Horwath HTL is located in Hilversum. Hrowath HTL publishes the annual hotel statistics in the HOSTA report, as well as the Compensation & Benefits for the Dutch Hotel Industry and the GOSTA report (Golf course statistics).
