Dublin’s hotels have spent another year close to full. Dublin hotel occupancy reached 84.7pc in the first nine months of 2026 (January to September), a touch ahead of the same period in 2025, based on CoStar data analysed by CBRE Ireland. The average room rate rose 1.3pc to €177.79 a night, and revenue per available room climbed 1.5pc to €150.50.
The catch for hotel owners is that prices barely moved in real terms. Room rate growth trailed inflation, demand is being propped up by American visitors and big events, and more than 3,500 new bedrooms are on the way. Here’s what the figures show, what’s behind them and what changes once the new hotels open.
Dublin Hotel Occupancy at 84.7pc: The Key Figures
The headline numbers for the capital’s hotels, January to September 2026:
| Measure | January to September 2026 | Change on 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy | 84.7pc | Slightly ahead |
| Average daily rate (ADR) | €177.79 | Up 1.3pc |
| Revenue per available room (RevPAR) | €150.50 | Up 1.5pc |
| Irish CPI inflation, same period | 3.3pc | Above rate growth |
An occupancy rate of 84.7pc means that, on an average night, roughly five in every six Dublin hotel rooms had someone sleeping in them. That is very high for a city market, and it has been the norm for a while. Dublin averaged about 84pc occupancy across 2025, with 146 nights above 90pc, so this year’s figure is more of the same than a breakthrough.
Earlier in the year the picture looked a little softer. Dublin hotels ran at 82pc occupancy in the first half of 2026, and Bank of Ireland forecast 83.8pc for the full year with RevPAR up 1.1pc. By the end of September, the year-to-date figure had moved above both.
Dublin Room Rates Rise Slower Than Inflation
The 1.3pc rise in the average room rate looks fine until you set it against prices generally. Irish CPI inflation ran at 3.3pc over the same nine months, so the typical Dublin room actually got a little cheaper in real terms.
CBRE described occupancy as broadly flat and said holding it at this level, despite headwinds for global travel early in the year, was evidence of the market’s underlying resilience. For guests, the practical upshot is simple enough: Dublin is still on the pricey side, with an average night not far off €180, but room rates are now rising more slowly than prices in general.
What Is Keeping Dublin Hotels Full?
Three things are doing most of the work.
- American visitors. Peak-month overnight trips from the United States to Ireland have grown by roughly 20pc since 2023, from about 150,000 to between 175,000 and 180,000.
- Events outside the summer. A growing calendar of international sporting fixtures and concerts is filling rooms in months that used to be quieter, and the 2027 Ryder Cup, at Adare Manor in Co Limerick rather than Dublin, is expected to add a further tourism lift.
- The weather, oddly enough. CBRE suggests that as summers get hotter in southern Europe, Ireland’s milder climate is becoming more of a draw.
Air traffic points the same way. CBRE also cited record passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, which handled 3.84 million passengers in July, its busiest month on record.
More Than 3,500 New Dublin Hotel Rooms by 2028
Supply is finally catching up. Dublin is projected to pass 30,000 hotel rooms for the first time by 2028, with a development pipeline worth up to €1.2bn adding more than 3,500 rooms. CBRE puts the figure under construction at 3,505 keys, with budget and midscale hotels making up 44pc of what is being delivered.
The mix matters for anyone paying for a room. Budget hotels, midscale hotels and aparthotels make up much of the pipeline, with aparthotels expected to account for 15pc of the new supply due by 2028. At the top end, a Sofitel at Dublin Airport is due to open in the first quarter of 2027 as the city’s first new five-star hotel since The Marker in 2013. A growing number of planned schemes involve converting former office and retail buildings.
Another source of rooms is less visible. The State’s phased withdrawal from contracted commercial accommodation was set to begin in August 2026 and finish by March 2027, which could return a meaningful number of hotel rooms to the open market.
Colin Richardson, head of research and consultancy at CBRE Ireland, said the extra capacity should take some heat out of the market: “Adding more than 3,500 rooms to a market this full should bring some normalisation of trading levels.”
Irish Hotel Investment Reaches €1.4bn
Investors are still buying. Rolling 12-month hotel investment in Ireland reached about €1.4bn by the end of the third quarter, more than double the ten-year annual average of €624m. That figure was driven largely by Pandox’s takeover of Dalata. Strip that deal out and 2026 has been a year of smaller, targeted purchases, with about €189m traded so far this year.
Dublin Airport hotels account for the two largest deals of 2026 to date, and hotels have also changed hands in Meath, Donegal and Kerry. The Conrad and the Morrison in Dublin are both on the market, and volumes for the year would rise significantly if either sells before the end of December. Prime leased Dublin hotels trade on yields of around 5pc, among the sharpest in Europe and in line with Paris and Madrid.
What Happens Next for Dublin Hotels?
The new rooms arrive gradually through 2027 and 2028. As they open, the extra beds are expected to ease occupancy and rate pressure, particularly at the budget and midscale end, where a large share of the new stock sits.
Richardson pointed to the events pipeline, record passenger numbers through Dublin Airport and Fáilte Ireland’s focus on visitor growth, which he said “all point in the right direction.” For anyone planning a city break, that probably means Dublin stays busy and on the pricey side for a while yet, with a bit more choice at the cheaper end from 2027.
FAQ
What Is Average Daily Rate in the Hotel Industry?
Average daily rate, or ADR, is the average price paid for each room that was actually sold over a period. Dublin’s ADR for January to September 2026 was €177.79.
What Does RevPAR Mean?
RevPAR, or revenue per available room, is a hotel’s room revenue divided by every room it had available, sold or not. It combines price and occupancy in one number, which is why Dublin’s RevPAR of €150.50 sits below its average room rate of €177.79.
Who Produces Dublin’s Hotel Occupancy Figures?
The Dublin figures come from CoStar, which collects nightly trading data from hotels, and are analysed by the property adviser CBRE Ireland in its Irish hotel market research.
