Over the past year, Runnr.ai processed millions of guest conversations across more than 1,000 European properties: hotels, holiday parks, hostels, and campsites. This report distills those conversations into the trends and patterns that matter most for your business in 2026.
A few findings stand out:
Guests want flexibility above all else.
Check-in and checkout timing dominates guest communication. Over a quarter of all hotel conversations relate to early check-in or late checkout. Properties that make timing flexibility easy to request and pay for will win in 2026.
Digital friction is the new front desk queue.
The dominant pain points are digital: broken payment links, missing booking confirmations, and check-in flows that don't work. Your digital touchpoints need to be as reliable as your front desk team.
Upsell appetite is real, and largely untapped.
12% of guests actively click to explore upsell options, and 18% of hotel conversations contain an unprompted upsell request. Breakfast, parking, room upgrades, and restaurant reservations are the biggest opportunities.
Holiday parks face a unique operational challenge.
Over 11% of holiday park conversations relate to maintenance issues. Cottage readiness isn't just a housekeeping issue; it's the single biggest driver of guest dissatisfaction.
Chatbot engagement is accelerating.
Monthly interactions nearly quadrupled over the year. Guests are choosing automated messaging as their primary channel, and they expect it to work in their own language.
The takeaway for 2026 is clear: guest communication strategy is no longer just about responding to enquiries. It's about anticipating needs, removing friction, and creating revenue opportunities, all through the channels guests already prefer.
I hope the insights in this report help inform your strategy for the year ahead.
Warm regards,
Michiel De Vor
CEO & Co-Founder, Runnr.ai
02
Methodology
How we collected this data
Runnr.ai's platform is used by over 1,000 hospitality companies across Europe across WhatsApp, SMS, email, OTA inbox, and webchat. This report draws on three distinct datasets collected between March 2025 and February 2026.
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Conversation Summaries
0
Negative-Sentiment Messages
0
Button Interactions
Conversations by Property Type
5,632
Hotels
56.3% of conversations
4,301
Holiday Parks
43.0% of conversations
67
Hostels
0.7% of conversations
Coverage & Data Collection
1,000+ properties across EuropeWhatsApp, Email, SMS, OTA Inboxes, WebchatPeriod: March 2025 to February 2026
Languages represented: Dutch, German, French, English, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Lithuanian. Categories were consolidated to account for conversational variations. All guest quotes are anonymized and property names are redacted.
03
Top Guest Requests
What guests ask for most, by property type
Runnr.ai analyzed 10,000 guest conversations and found a few clear priorities: flexibility with arrival and departure times, food, and logistical needs like parking and invoicing. The picture differs significantly by property type. Hotel guests are transactional and billing-conscious, while holiday park guests want hands-on operational support throughout their stay. Regardless of property type, all guests expect timely, personalized assistance from on-site staff.
All Properties
Bed Preference
650
Early Check-in
583
Late Checkout
548
Food & Breakfast
478
Parking
453
Baby/Child Equipment
434
Appliance/Facility Issue
423
Pet Notification
348
Invoice/Billing
303
Towels & Linen
295
Timing Flexibility is King
Combined early check-in and late checkout requests account for over a quarter of conversations.
1,131 total timing requests
Parks: More Reactive Service
Holiday park guests generate significantly more in-stay maintenance contacts than hotel guests.
341 appliance/facility issues
Breakfast: A Missed Upsell Moment
12% of conversations mention adding or confirming breakfast, largely a hotel phenomenon.
478 food/breakfast mentions
Hotels
Early Check-in
449
Late Checkout
430
Bed Preference
412
Parking
385
Food & Breakfast
372
Invoice/Billing
281
Restaurant/Dining
198
Pet Notification
195
Payment Issues
195
Cancellation/Refund
181
Hotel Insight
Flexibility is the #1 hotel guest priority. Early check-in and late checkout together represent roughly 16% of all hotel requests. Parking and breakfast add-ons round out the top five, suggesting strong appetite for pre-arrival upsells.
Holiday Parks
Baby/Child Equipment
368
Appliance/Facility Issue
339
Bed Preference
229
Towels & Linen
172
Activities/Leisure
154
Pet Notification
153
Tech Issues (TV/WiFi)
147
Early Check-in
130
Late Checkout
116
Food & Breakfast
105
Holiday Park Insight
Operational issues dominate. Broken appliances, missing towel packages, and equipment requests account for over 500 contacts, indicating that cottage readiness and in-stay service quality are the primary drivers of guest friction.
Hostels
Hostel conversations represent a small sample (67 total), so treat these figures directionally rather than statistically.
Bed Preference
9
Baby/Child Equipment
6
Activities/Leisure
5
Cancellation/Refund
4
Early Check-in
4
Towels & Linen
3
Noise/Room Preference
3
04
Biggest Guest Pain Points
Common guest complaints
Runnr.ai analyzed 1,000 conversations flagged for negative sentiment. The top complaint themes are dominated by digital friction: broken payment flows, missed confirmation emails, and confusing check-in processes, rather than physical issues with the property itself.
"The online portal won't allow credit card payment. Can we pay on-site instead?"
Hotel guest, Germany
2Check-in & Digital Access Issues
75 mentions
Broken online check-in links, access codes not working.
"I'm trying to click the check-in link from the email and it won't let me."
Hotel guest, UK
3Missing Booking Confirmations
65 mentions
No confirmation email received, generating anxiety and follow-up contacts.
"I just made a reservation but haven't received any confirmation. Did the booking go through?"
Hotel guest, Netherlands
4Broken/Malfunctioning Equipment
58 mentions
Dishwashers, TVs, heating failures. Overwhelmingly a holiday park phenomenon.
"The dishwasher won't start. Could someone come by? House 622."
Holiday park guest, Germany
5Cancellation & Rebooking Difficulties
30 mentions
Guests struggling to cancel or modify, frustrated by rigid policies.
"I need assistance cancelling and rebooking. I booked today but meant to book for a different time frame."
Hotel guest, international
6Missing Towels & Linen
20 mentions
Towel packages and bed linen not present on arrival despite being ordered.
"We booked 4 towel packages but only received 2. The missing packages should be delivered to our cottage."
Holiday park guest
Key Takeaway
Most of these complaints trace back to digital friction and on-site practicalities. Investing in reliable, self-serve digital tools helps close that gap, leading to better guest experiences and higher satisfaction ratings.
Broken links, failed digital key delivery, confusion about whether check-in processed.
3Invoice & Receipt Problems
High volume
Business travellers following up about invoices missing company details.
Holiday Park Complaints
1Broken/Malfunctioning Equipment
Primary theme
Dishwashers, TVs, heating, saunas. Leading source of negative sentiment.
2Missing Supplies on Arrival
High volume
Towel packages, kitchen items, high chairs, linen not present on check-in.
05
Amenities & Enquiries
What amenities and information do guests commonly look for?
A key feature of Runnr.ai's AI-powered chat toolkit is a set of responsive buttons that let guests quickly set preferences, make requests, and give feedback without a back-and-forth conversation. Over the past year, Runnr.ai collected 1.23 million of these button clicks, offering a direct view into the information and amenities that interest guests most today.
Most-Clicked Chatbot Buttons
Button
12-Month Total
% Share
Check-in Times
266,418
21.6%
Enrich Your Stay
150,386
12.2%
Checkout Times
115,595
9.4%
Hotel Location
108,531
8.8%
Check-in Procedure
95,148
7.7%
Things to Do
76,762
6.2%
Hotel Facilities
55,687
4.5%
Luggage Storage
51,718
4.2%
Give Us Feedback
36,449
3.0%
Hotels: Amenity Interest
Check-in Times
266,418
Hotel Location
108,531
Things to Do
76,762
Hotel Facilities
55,687
Luggage Storage
51,718
Parking
41,420
Hotel Guests Crave Logistical Details
Hotel guests often ask about hotel location and transport links. This is especially important for urban hotels where transit can be difficult to navigate. Luggage storage is also notably popular, reflecting demand for flexible arrival and departure day experiences.
Holiday Parks: Amenity Interest
Check-in Times
266,418
Checkout Times
115,595
Check-in Procedure
95,148
Things to Do
76,762
Hotel Facilities
55,687
Luggage Storage
51,718
Holiday Park Guests Crave Entertainment
"Things to do" is a dominant enquiry in parks, driven by families planning activities during their stay. Guests also show high interest in on-park facilities and restaurant reservations.
Location Remains Key
Roughly 9% of clicks relate to location, an opportunity to share local guides.
108,531 location clicks
Activities Drive Engagement
"Things to do" generated around 6% of clicks, the highest amenity-specific category.
76,762 activity clicks
Luggage Storage Demand
Around 4% of clicks, suggesting guests want to check out and keep exploring.
51,718 luggage clicks
06
Upsell Insights
Opportunities to increase ancillary revenue
Upsell offers are in high demand regardless of property type. Roughly 12% of guests click the "Enrich Your Stay" button in Runnr.ai chats, from breakfast add-ons and parking reservations to room upgrades and activity bookings. Many of these requests arrive after initial booking, highlighting a significant revenue opportunity during the pre-arrival messaging window.
"Enrich Your Stay": 150,386 Clicks
Runnr.ai's upsell menu button received 150,386 clicks over the last 12 months, the second most-tapped button in the dataset. Guests are actively open to post-booking upsell offers when shown at the right moment.
All Properties: Upsell Requests
Add Breakfast
478
Add Parking
453
Baby Equipment Add-on
434
Restaurant Reservation
270
Activity Booking (park)
154
Taxi/Transfer Booking
95
Room Upgrade
86
Hotels
Add Parking
385
Add Breakfast
372
Restaurant Reservation
198
Taxi/Transfer
83
Room Upgrade
78
Holiday Parks
Activity Booking
154
Add Breakfast
105
Restaurant Reservation
70
Add Parking
67
Breakfast Add-Ons in High Demand
33% of upsell-interested guests click to learn about breakfast. A proactive pre-arrival offer could dramatically increase uptake.
478 breakfast requests
Hotel Guests Want Room Upgrades
Around 7% of upsell-interested guests request upgrades. Pre-arrival prompts 24 to 48 hours before check-in see the strongest conversion.
86 upgrade requests
Baby & Child Equipment: A Proactive Upsell
Baby cots, high chairs, and child beds: most requested at holiday parks. Runnr.ai can automate these offers when children are on the reservation.
434 family equipment requests
Restaurant Reservations, Fully Automated
Almost 19% of upsell requests. Runnr.ai offers chat-to-table bookings via restaurant platform integrations.
270 restaurant requests
07
More Trends for 2026
Additional findings from the data
Check-in Flexibility Most Important in Winter Months
With 266,418 clicks (21.6% of all interactions), "Check-in Times" is the most-tapped chatbot menu item. Clicks rise from around 17% in spring to over 27% in winter (November to February), suggesting flexible arrivals matter more during holiday travel.
Mar
16.8%
Apr
17.9%
May
17.9%
Jun
18.9%
Jul
19.3%
Aug
19.2%
Sep
17.7%
Oct
20.0%
Nov
26.5%
Dec
27.7%
Jan
25.6%
Feb
26.7%
The Multilingual Guest Reality
Allowing guests to communicate in their own language is part of what makes hospitality chatbots like Runnr.ai valuable. Properties using Runnr.ai see a high density of Dutch, German, French, and English speakers, but the platform communicates in any language, even when on-site staff takes over.
Note: Runnr.ai has a high density of customer properties in Benelux. Dutch speakers account for a large portion of the data set.
NL
High
Dominant in parks
DE
High
Hotels & parks
FR
High
Strong in parks
EN
High
All segments
ES
Med
Hotels
IT
Med
Hotels
CS
Low
Parks
LT
Low
Parks
Pet-Friendly Travel
Pet-related requests appeared in 348 conversations. Pet-friendly properties should consider proactive communication around their pet policies.
"We'll be bringing our border collie, she's very well trained. Can you confirm the cottage is pet-friendly?"
Holiday park guest (anonymized)
Family Travel Is On the Rise
Baby cots, high chairs, and child equipment appear in 434 conversations, heavily concentrated in holiday parks (368 vs 60 hotels). Missing baby equipment is a major source of first-night dissatisfaction.
"We urgently need the high chair and baby cot delivered to cottage 510. We have two small children and mealtime is approaching."
Holiday park guest (anonymized)
08
About Runnr.ai
Europe's automated guest communication platform
Runnr.ai helps hotels, holiday parks, hostels, and campsites across Europe automate guest communication, from pre-arrival to post-checkout. The AI-powered platform handles WhatsApp, SMS, email, OTA inbox, and webchat conversations in any language, giving hospitality teams instant, personalized responses at scale while freeing staff to focus on what matters most: creating exceptional guest experiences.
Trusted by over 1,000 properties across Europe, Runnr.ai integrates with your PMS, booking engine, and operational tools to turn every guest conversation into an opportunity, whether that's resolving a request, capturing an upsell, or earning a five-star review.
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of guest communication, fully automated
0
of guests say Runnr.ai enhances their stay
0
of guests ask more than one question
Trusted by hospitality leaders across Europe
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