- Total YTD hotel booking volume is down 5.35% compared to the same period in 2024, with US bookings down more than 10% in 2025.
- After seeing growth in Q1, YTD volumes versus the same period in 2024 remain relatively flat following a Q2 dip in many other major destinations, including France (YTD – 1.53%), the UK (YTD -1.41%) and Australia (YTD -0.46%).
- Despite the uncertainty, Canada and Norway have proven resilient, with YTD bookings increasing 7.24% and 20.79% respectively.
HotelHub, the leading hotel booking technology provider for travel management companies, has released its Q2 2025 edition of the HotelHub Index, revealing booking volume growth has stalled in many countries amid ongoing global trade uncertainty.
Analysis of the close to 4 million hotel bookings made via HotelHub technology in 2025 shows that year-to-date global booking volumes have dropped by 5.35% compared to January – June 2024. This contrasts to the first quarter of the year where total year-on-year booking numbers had remained fairly stable – despite a significant drop in US bookings – and comes as businesses attempt to make sense of the unpredictable and ever-changing tariff policies issued by the new US administration since April.
The US itself continues to feel some of the biggest effects of this volatility, with total bookings to US hotels down 10.65% compared to the first six months of 2024. In Q2 2025 alone, booking numbers dropped 13.24% compared to Q2 2024. Notably, lead times for hotel bookings in the US have dropped by 6.77% in Q2 suggesting a growing reluctance to commit to US travel too far in advance.
Elsewhere, despite a strong start to 2025, it appears that this hesitancy to travel is trickling to other markets.
- For example, the UK, which had seen a 7.15% growth in bookings via HotelHub in Q1, closed the first six months of the year with total bookings down by 1.41% compared to 2024.
- Similarly, year-to-date bookings in France were down by 1.53% at the end of June 2025 – despite being up 3% in Q1 – and Australia, which had seen bookings increase by 1.48% in Q1, saw volumes flatline to a slight 0.46% decline compared to the first half of 2024.
It remains to be seen whether the Q2 downturn is just a blip in the immediate aftermath of the US tariff announcements and if bookings will get back on track as trade deals are settled.
In fact, of the 15 countries most booked by HotelHub users, only two saw booking volumes rise in Q2 2025:
- Canada – which has found itself in the spotlight of much of the discourse around US foreign policy – saw a 5.13% boost in Q2 bookings compared to Q2 2024, with total bookings for the year to date up by 7.24%.
- Norway has fared even better, with Q2 bookings up 9.71% compared to Q2 2024 – and total bookings for the year 20.79% higher than January – June 2024.
Paul Raymond, HotelHub’s chief commercial officer, commented:
“Given the global uncertainty surrounding the recent White House activity, it’s not particularly surprising to see a slight downturn in hotel bookings for business travel in the first half of the year. However, while the decline in Q2 US bookings is evident, there is room for optimism in other markets.
As several countries have more recently signed trade deals with the US, there appears to be a level of stability returning to businesses and we may even see a greater impetus for travel as companies look to realign strategies with the new policies in place.”
Other notable findings in the latest HotelHub Index include a 0.91% drop in average lead time for all bookings. While this represents only a slight shortening of lead times (from an average of 16.85 days in Q2 2024 to 16.69 days in Q2 2025), it is significant in that it ends the consistent upward trajectory of lead times recorded by HotelHub since 2022.
The Q2 2025 data also shows signs that hotel rates are continuing to settle after significant increases in 2024. The average rate booked per night between April and June 2025 was $192, up just 1.77% compared to Q2 2024. Meanwhile, across the first 6 months of the year, average rates are up just 1% versus 2024 – a stark contrast to the 5.39% seen in the same period last year (compared to 2023) and a positive sign for corporate travel budgets.
