Most chain comparisons recycle the same global pie chart. We rebuilt the European footprint country-by-country using each chain's own annual report — Accor, Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Radisson, NH/Minor, Meliá, Whitbread — then ground-truthed it against a 1,298-venue 2026 Apify scrape.
Companion to our full chain-share analysis.
Every chain count points back to its annual report or 10-K. STR Europe used only via public press releases. National denominators from Eurostat, INSEE, UK ONS.
Top 10 European chains by reported property count for 2026, with the EMEA / Europe segment clearly flagged where they differ.
UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, Belgium, Ireland, Greece, Czechia — each with a top-10 ranking.
Every brand tagged for conference / event capability. Use this to sort out accommodation-only properties from corporate-event venues.
Independents still represent the majority of European hotel inventory. We quantify by country and explain when chain-only sourcing self-limits the buyer.
When chain RFPs make sense, when they don't, and how to structure a hybrid programme that captures both rate predictability and per-event price tension.