Hotel bed offering almost doubles in past 20 years in Barcelona

The number of hotel beds on offer in Barcelona has increased by 84% in the last two decades, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) being held in the city.

According to data from Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) compiled by the City Council, the Catalan capital had 87,725 beds in December 2025, almost double the 47,781 registered in January 2006.

The number of hotel beds on offer in Catalonia as a whole is also growing, up 55% to 181,371 places in the relevant timeframe.

Meanwhile, the growth of hotel beds seen across Spain as a whole is growing, but at a much slower rate, up by 26% in the last two decades. 

Speaking to the Catalan News Agency (ACN), Josep Rodríguez, CEO of the Sercotel hotel chain, says the Mobile World Congress “has helped de-seasonalize” demand, turning traditionally slow months into periods of high occupancy.

The difference is especially visible in winter, he says. “Twenty years ago, the month of February had very low occupancy, and today it is practically a peak month in the city of Barcelona.”

Meanwhile, the general director of the Barcelona Hotels Association, Manel Casals, considers that the congress has marked “a before and an after” in the Catalan capital.

Casals says the MWC has reinforced the “international positioning” of Barcelona, adding that the success of hosting MWC has attracted other fairs and congresses to the city.

Rodríguez also highlighted that the impact of MWC has translated into longer stays. “We started with one or two days and currently we are averaging around three or four,” he said.

However, Casals clarified that this evolution is not linear and depends on several factors, such as the time of year when the conference takes place or market trends.

Locations

Eixample, the Gothic Quarter, and Raval concentrate more than half of the 446 hotels that the city council includes in a list that appears on the open data portal.

21% are located in the Dreta de l'Eixample, the neighborhood that tops the ranking ahead of the Gothic Quarter (13%), the Raval (11%).

These are followed by the Antiga Esquerra de l'Eixample (6%), and Born (5%).

One-star hotels make up 9% of the total number of hotels, while two-star hotels make up 11%, and three-star hotels make up 27%. Four-star hotels are by far the most popular (42%), while one in ten have five stars.