News · 19 October 2026
Swiss hotel overnight stays 2026: September estimate up 5.5%
The Federal Statistical Office's first estimate puts September 2026 hotel nights 5.45% above a year earlier, after a 2.1% fall in August. Here's what the figures say about when and where Swiss hotels are busiest, and what that means for a Year 1 internship.
Swiss hotel overnight stays rose 5.45% in September 2026 compared with September 2025. That's the first estimate from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), out on 15 October 2026.[1] Nights by foreign guests were up 6.42%, nights by Swiss residents 4.40%.[1]
It follows a weaker August. Hotels counted 4,881,023 nights that month, a provisional 2.1% down on a year before; January to August 2026 stood at 30,162,203 nights, down 0.7%.[3][4] Thinking about a first year at a Swiss hotel school? Then the headline matters less than the pattern under it: when Swiss hotels fill up, where, and with whom.
What exactly did the FSO publish?
A first estimate, not a final count. HESTA-Flash is one of the FSO's experimental statistics, and it comes out 11 working days after the month ends. For hotels that haven't reported yet, an extrapolation fills the gap, so the FSO asks you to read the confidence interval along with the headline.[2] Here are the three figures:[1]
| September 2026 vs September 2025 | Change | Confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| All hotel nights | +5.45% | ± 0.44 points |
| Swiss residents | +4.40% | ± 0.68 points |
| Foreign guests | +6.42% | ± 0.60 points |
For scale, September 2025 had 4,125,616 hotel nights.[4] A second estimate follows on 22 October 2026, and it adds where guests come from, by continent and main country.[2][6]
Who stays in Swiss hotels?
Guests who live in Switzerland, more than any single country. From January to August, Swiss residents accounted for 14.6 million of the 30.2 million nights, up 0.9%, while foreign guests' nights fell 2.2% to 15.5 million.[3] Here's a handful of markets over the same eight months:[5]
| Guests from | Nights, January to August 2026 | Change on January to August 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 14,616,701 | +0.9% |
| Germany | 2,763,883 | +1.2% |
| United States | 2,571,532 | +0.9% |
| United Kingdom | 1,205,709 | −3.7% |
| China | 509,558 | −6.6% |
| India | 384,461 | −23.0% |
| Brazil | 274,370 | +8.5% |
Lucerne, where we teach our hospitality programmes, has a different mix, with a strong American accent.[7] The canton counted 1,667,823 hotel nights from January to August, down 1.7%. After the Swiss, American guests were the biggest group: 311,523 nights, up 2.9%.[5]
When and where are Swiss hotels busiest?
Swiss hotels counted 43,930,146 nights in 2025, and they didn't come evenly.[4] The country peaks in July and August and bottoms out in November, when fewer establishments open at all: 3,420 in November 2025, against 4,218 in August.[4] Pick a canton and the rhythm changes completely:[4][5]
| Hotel nights, 2025 | Switzerland | Graubünden | Zürich | Lucerne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | 3,357,762 | 788,445 | 387,324 | 117,828 |
| May | 3,476,654 | 179,998 | 643,842 | 252,929 |
| August | 4,985,072 | 638,928 | 706,954 | 288,821 |
| November | 2,375,671 | 123,854 | 520,548 | 150,535 |
Graubünden ranks third among the cantons for hotel nights so far in 2026, behind Zürich and Bern. It lives on two seasons, winter and summer, with deep dips in between.[5] Zürich's hotels have a much steadier year, and Lucerne's busiest stretch is the summer.[5]
What does this mean for your first year?
Year 1 of our path has two halves: a semester of study on campus in Lucerne, then a six-month paid internship placement.[7] The next intakes are 16 November 2026, 22 February 2027 and 16 August 2027.[7] Count six months on from your start date and you'll see which season your first placement lands in. Start in November, for example, and it falls in the summer half of the year.
The numbers tell you three things.
- The season shapes the job. A mountain resort works to two peaks; a city hotel has a steadier year. The two feel very different, so it's worth knowing which one suits you.
- Languages open doors. Placements inside Switzerland depend very much on German, French or Italian, and German Communication is a Year 1 module.[7][8] The guest figures say the same: almost half of all hotel nights belong to Swiss residents, and Germany is the biggest foreign market.[5]
- The pay is real, and so are the deductions. A placement in Switzerland pays CHF 2,390 a month gross, before deductions for room, board and social insurance.[8] In the countryside, where the employer provides accommodation and meals, you're left with around CHF 1,500 a month; in a big city where you pay for your own room, it's around CHF 800 to CHF 1,000.[8]
If you're a parent, here's one honest caveat: these figures count guests, not jobs. A strong September doesn't create a placement, and a first estimate can still move. What the data does show is an industry that stayed above 2.3 million hotel nights in every month of 2025, with a calendar your son or daughter learns to work with from the first placement.[4] Placements outside Switzerland are possible too.[8]
What comes next?
The FSO's full figures for January to September come out on 5 November 2026, and its results for the 2026 summer season on 7 December 2026.[6] Until then, our Year 1 Diploma page shows how the first year is built, and the internships page explains how placements and pay work.