According to preliminary figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday, the German hospitality sector saw a decline in revenue in March 2026 compared to February 2026. Specifically, the sector reported a real decrease of 2.2 percent and a nominal decrease of 1.3 percent. However, when compared to the same month of the previous year (March 2025), the real revenue dropped by 5.2 percent, while the nominal revenue increased by 2.5 percent. This decline brings the real revenue in the hospitality sector to its lowest point since March 2022, when the lingering effects of the COVID-19 crisis were still evident.
Looking at preceding months, the hospitality sector’s revenues showed a real increase of 0.2 percent in February 2026 compared to January 2026 (up from a preliminary 0.0 percent). Nominally, revenues rose by 0.5 percent in February 2026 compared to January 2026 (up from a preliminary 0.4 percent).
Details regarding the core segments show notable variances. Hotels and other accommodation establishments recorded a real revenue decrease of 5.6 percent and a nominal decline of 3.4 percent when comparing March 2026 to February 2026. Compared to March 2025, the segment’s revenue fell by 4.2 percent in real terms, although it increased by 2.6 percent nominally.
In the food service segment, revenue decreased marginally by 0.1 percent in real terms against February 2026, while increasing by 0.2 percent nominally. Compared to March 2025, the food service sector saw a real revenue drop of 5.7 percent, alongside an increase of 2.3 percent in nominal terms.