Easter 2025: have the bells spoiled the French hotel industry?

The Easter weekend is a crucial period for the hotel industry, serving as a barometer for its performance before the peak season begins. In 2025, this significant weekend coincided with school holidays, resulting in a surge of travelers. This presented a lucrative opportunity for hoteliers to boost their business. So, did French hoteliers successfully attract customers?

Each year, Booking.com unveils the top destinations preferred by French travelers over the Easter weekend. This year, the holiday weekend aligned with the spring break across all school regions, likely enhancing the hotel performance of these destinations.

Which destinations were most popular among the French this year? The 2025 rankings closely resembled those of 2024, with minor changes. Montpellier dropped out of the top 10, while Biarritz made a notable entry, claiming the 7th spot.

Despite Paris maintaining its top position, Marseille slipped to third place, with Nice taking the second spot. Lyon retained its fourth position, now followed by Annecy instead of Bordeaux.

Top three performers over the Easter weekend in 2025 by Hospitality ON

While these cities topped the search charts, how did their hotels fare? According to MKG Destination data, Nice boasted a slightly higher occupancy rate than Paris (82.2% vs. 82%), showcasing its vibrancy during the extended weekend. Marseille followed with a total occupancy rate of 76.2%.

All these cities saw improvements in their occupancy rates compared to the previous year, with increases of +3.1 points for Nice, +5.6 points for Marseille, and +7 points for Paris. Paris’s significant growth can be attributed in part to the avoidance effect last year due to preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In terms of pricing, Nice experienced the highest average price surge (+21.3%), followed by Marseille (+12.8%), while Paris saw a more modest increase of +5%. Given the high demand and limited hotel supply in Nice compared to Paris, the substantial price hike in Nice is not surprising.