Twenty-four hotels from eleven countries have applied for the European 'Hotel Property of the Year 2026' award. This award has been presented for 24 years as part of the 196+ forum Munich, the current year's event for which will take place on 7 October at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof Munich.
The submitted applications represent a wide geographical spread. The involved locations include European capitals such as Madrid, Paris, Rome, Stockholm and Vienna, as well as the Croatian Adriatic coast and, for the first time, the West Bohemian Spa Triangle. Further applications came from an East Frisian island, an island off Bergen in Norway, the Dutch North Sea coast, the Bergisches Land region, the German-French border region in Saarland, Baden-Baden, a well-known Italian winter sports resort and a thermal spa resort in Hungary. Business centres such as Barcelona, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Linz and Milan are also represented.
Diversity of Concepts and Evaluation Criteria
Andreas Martin, Chairman of the Jury, highlighted the diversity of hotel concepts. He emphasised that 13 of the applications were for city hotels and 11 for holiday hotel destinations. This distribution demonstrates the industry's innovative strength and the increasing blurring of boundaries between work, relaxation and travel. Hotels that were newly built or underwent renovation and repositioning after a complete closure in Europe between January 2025 and June 2026 were eligible to participate.
The jury meeting will take place at the beginning of September, where up to ten nominees will be selected from the received applications. These will then be presented and awarded at the 196+ forum conference in Munich. The properties are evaluated according to a catalogue of criteria that applies independently of the hotel categorisation.
- —Architecture and design
- —Integration into the project environment
- —Sustainability and technical innovation
- —Originality of the concept
- —Economic viability
The list of 24 applicants includes well-known hotel names and location-specific projects. Represented are, among others, the Aiden by Best Western Velbert, the ARCOTEL Tabakfabrik Linz, the Brach Madrid, the Casa Cook Madonna di Campiglio and the Flessler´s Lenggries – A Tribute Portfolio Hotel. Also applying are properties in metropolises such as the Kimpton Main Frankfurt, the Hotel Schani City Vienna, the Ruby Frida Stockholm as well as the SLS Barcelona and the Steigenberger Icon Europäischer Hof Baden-Baden. Regionally specific concepts such as the Silt & Sand Langeoog and the Swissôtel Marianske Lazne are also competing for the award.
