BARCELONA, SPAIN—New data from SiteMinder, the world’s leading hotel commerce platform, reveals strong hotel demand within Europe where a total solar eclipse occurred last month. In Spain, bookings for the days leading up to the August 12 phenomenon rose by as much as 76 percent year-over-year and prices by as much as 85 percent year-over-year in some of the destinations best placed for viewing the event.
SiteMinder’s analysis compared booked stays from August 10 to 12 with the corresponding period last year. Spanish regions where hotel demand was highest include:
- Asturias, one of the premier viewing destinations, where forward bookings and average daily rates were up 76 percent and 85 percent, respectively, compared with last year.
- A Coruña province, where forward bookings and average daily rates were up 65 percent and 41 percent, respectively, compared with last year.
- Palma, where forward bookings and average daily rates were up 75 percent and 24 percent, respectively, compared with last year. While Valencia also recorded a 75 percent year-on-year rise in bookings, price increases were moderate at 6 percent.
Earlier Bookings & Shorter Stays
Beyond the surge in demand, SiteMinder’s data signals a broader shift in travel behavior, with hotel guests booking much earlier and opting for shorter stays to secure the best value out of their accommodation. Asturias again led this trend, with the average booking lead time increasing 77 percent, from 121 days in 2025 to 215 days this year. City stays have also been secured earlier. Compared with last year, the booking lead time was up 52 percent in Valencia, 50 percent in Bilbao and 41 percent in Palma. Among the provinces, A Coruña and Tarragona recorded a respective 42 percent and 29 percent year-on-year growth in booking lead time.
At the same time, length of stay shortened in almost all destinations, reinforcing the concentration of travel around the event. Asturias saw the sharpest decline, with the average length of stay down 36 percent year-on-year during the analyzed period.
One hotel group that experienced these major shifts in demand was Attica21.
“Although August is already a month of very high occupancy in hotels in Galicia, including A Coruña and Vilalba, the eclipse still had a positive impact on demand,” says Attica21’s Operations Director, Bruno García Monteagudo. “We are seeing bookings made much earlier, an increase of more than 50 percent in average price, and a more international guest profile, particularly from the United States and the United Kingdom. Above all, the eclipse is helping to attract higher-value customers to our hotels.”
“The eclipse is acting as a real accelerator of tourism demand across different destinations in Spain,” says Tamara Jiménez, SiteMinder’s Director for Spain. “Beyond the immediate impact on occupancy and rates, we are seeing how major events continue to have the power to stimulate demand, bring forward booking decisions and create highly valuable opportunities for hotels across the country. Hotels using the latest distribution and revenue optimization tools are best positioned to capitalize on the demand.”
