Runnr.ai — A Data-Driven Insights Report
Dear hospitality leaders,
Over the past year, Runnr.ai has 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. This is the single clearest signal in the data, and it represents both a service expectation and a revenue opportunity. Properties that make timing flexibility easy to request and pay for will win.
Digital friction is the new front desk queue. When we analyzed guest complaints, we expected to find issues with rooms, cleanliness, or noise. Instead, the dominant pain points are digital: broken payment links, missing booking confirmations, and check-in flows that don't work. In 2026, the guest experience starts long before arrival — and 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. The question isn't whether guests want to spend more — it's whether you're making it easy for them to do so at the right moment.
Holiday parks face a unique operational challenge. Over 11% of holiday park conversations relate to maintenance issues — broken TVs, malfunctioning dishwashers, missing towels. For park operators, cottage readiness isn't just a housekeeping issue; it's the single biggest driver of guest dissatisfaction. Predictive maintenance and better pre-arrival checklists could transform the guest experience.
Chatbot engagement is accelerating. Monthly interactions nearly quadrupled over the course of the year — and demand stayed strong even through winter. Guests are choosing automated messaging as their primary communication channel, and they expect it to work in their own language. This is no longer a nice-to-have; it's infrastructure.
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. The properties that embrace this shift will see it reflected in their guest satisfaction scores, their ancillary revenue, and their operational efficiency.
I hope the insights in this report help inform your strategy for the year ahead. We're excited to continue building the tools that make these conversations work harder for your business.
Warm regards,
Michiel De Vor
CEO & Co-Founder, Runnr.ai
Runnr.ai is a WhatsApp, SMS, email, OTA inbox, and web chat platform used by over 1,000 hospitality companies across Europe. This report draws on three distinct datasets collected between March 2025 and February 2026.
AI-generated summaries of guest messages, each capturing the core request or issue. Classified by property type.
Raw guest messages flagged by sentiment analysis, spanning 8+ languages. Reveals the emotional texture of guest frustration.
12 months of chatbot menu clicks across 12 categories. The most statistically robust dataset, showing aggregate intent at scale.
Note: Many request categories appear under varying phrasings in the data (e.g. "early check-in", "Early Check-in Request"). Combined thematic counts are used throughout. All guest quotes have been anonymized. Property names redacted.
We analyzed 10,000 guest conversations and discovered 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.
Note: Categories have been consolidated to account for conversational variations in phrasing (e.g, "early check-in", "Early Check-in Request", "requesting early check in"). The charts below represent combined thematic counts.
Hotel insight: Flexibility is the #1 hotel guest priority. Early check-in and late checkout together represent ~16% of all hotel requests — far higher than any operational issue. Parking (385 mentions) and breakfast add-ons (372) round out the top five, suggesting strong appetite for pre-arrival upsells.
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 in this segment.
Hostel insight: Sample size is small (67 conversations), but bed preferences — including lower bunk requests and specific pod/cocoon preferences — stand out as uniquely hostel-specific needs, underlining that bunk assignment matters greatly to this traveller profile.
Combined early check-in and late checkout requests account for over a quarter of conversations — by far the single largest request cluster across all property types.
1,131 total timing requestsHoliday park guests generate significantly more in-stay maintenance contacts (broken appliances, heating failures, missing supplies) than hotel guests, pointing to a more reactive service model.
341 appliance/facility issues in parks12% of conversations mention adding or confirming breakfast. This is largely a hotel phenomenon, where guests frequently request breakfast add-ons post-booking rather than at time of booking.
478 food/breakfast mentionsWe analyzed 1,000 conversations around guest complaints. 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.
Guests unable to complete online payments, credit card verification failures, missing payment links, or confusion about charges. Often involves third-party card use or online portal technical issues.
The online portal won't allow credit card payment. Can we pay on-site instead?
Hotel guest — GermanyI've received the invoice but cannot find the link to make the payment.
Hotel guest — multilingualBroken online check-in links, confusion over digital keys, access codes not working, or guests unsure whether their check-in has processed correctly.
I'm trying to click the check-in link from the email and it won't let me. Can you send another?
Hotel guest — UKGuests who do not receive confirmation emails after booking or online check-in, generating anxiety and follow-up contacts. A common trigger for chatbot escalation.
I just made a reservation but haven’t received any confirmation. Did the booking go through?
Hotel guest — NetherlandsThe payment was completed but the confirmation never came… can you check if it went through?
Hotel guest — multilingualBroken dishwashers, non-functional TVs, heating failures, and sauna malfunctions. Overwhelmingly a holiday park phenomenon, reflecting the complexity of self-catering unit maintenance.
The dishwasher won't start. Could someone come by? House 622.
Holiday park guest — GermanyOur TV in cottage 6349 is not working. Can someone fix it?
Holiday park guest — NetherlandsGuests unable to cancel, needing to change dates (often due to illness), or confused about the cancellation process. These conversations have notably higher frustration levels.
I need assistance cancelling and rebooking a reservation. I booked today but meant to book for a different time frame. I was told by headquarters you are the only ones that can help.
Hotel guest — international (anonymized)I understand the reservation is non-refundable. However, I've had an emergency. Is there any way I could potentially reschedule? I'm willing to pay the full amount for the rescheduled dates.
Hotel guest (anonymized)Guests arriving in cottages or rooms without the expected linen package — a particularly common complaint in holiday parks where towel packages may be separately ordered.
We booked 4 towel packages online but only received 2. The missing packages should be delivered to cottage 184.
Holiday park guest (anonymized)The beds are not made and no towels have been delivered, despite having ordered a comfort package.
Holiday park guest (anonymized)The dominant complaint in hotels. Online portals rejecting payments, credit card issues (especially third-party cards), and confusion about when/how to pay are persistent sources of guest anxiety.
Broken online check-in links sent by email are a recurring source of friction. Guests are left uncertain whether their stay is confirmed.
Hotel guests — particularly business travellers — frequently follow up about invoices not received or invoices missing company details needed for expense claims.
Dishwashers, TVs, heating systems, and saunas. Appliance failures are the leading source of negative sentiment in holiday parks — often happening shortly after arrival or during peak-use evening hours.
Towel packages, kitchen items, high chairs, and linen not present in the cottage upon check-in. Suggests a gap between pre-arrival confirmation and physical cottage preparation.
Key Takeaway: The majority of these complaints relate to digital friction and on-site practicalities. Invest in tools to enable reliable and self-serve digital interactions on-site. This will lead to better guest experiences and higher guest satisfaction ratings.
A key feature of our AI-powered chat toolkit is a set of responsive buttons that allow guests to quickly set preferences, make requests and provide feedback without a back-and-forth conversation. In the past year we've collected 1.23 million of these button clicks. These clicks provide a glimpse into the information and amenities that most interest guests today.
Hotel Guests Crave Logistical Details: Hotel guests often ask about hotel location, transport links. This is especially important for urban hotels where transit may be more difficult to navigate. Luggage storage is also notably popular, reflecting demand for flexible arrival/departure day experiences.
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 (pool, restaurant, sports) and restaurant reservations — reflecting a full-stay experience mindset rather than the logistical mindset of hotel-goers.
Roughly 9% of clicks relate to location – guests are actively researching surroundings and transport links via chatbot. There’s an opportunity to not only share basic location information, but also share local guides to help guests plan their stay.
108,531 location clicks"Things to do" generated ~6% clicks in holiday parks, the highest amenity-specific interaction category. This signals strong demand for curated activity suggestions and booking support.
76,762 activity clicksLuggage storage enquiries represent ~4% of clicks, suggesting many guests want to check out and continue exploring. Properties without a clear luggage solution are leaving guests underserved.
51,718 luggage clicksOur data shows that 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," Runnr.ai's upsell menu button, received 150,386 clicks over the last 12 months, making it the second-most tapped button in the entire dataset. This is a strong signal that guests are actively open to post-booking upsell offers when shown at the right moment, as guests are planning for their upcoming stay, or soon after arrival.
Breakfast is the upsell we see guests engaging with most often, with 33% of upsell-interested guests clicking to learn more about breakfast. Many properties handle breakfast add-ons reactively. Adding a proactive pre-arrival breakfast add-on offer could dramatically increase uptake.
478 food/breakfast requestsRoughly 7% of upsell-interested guests request room upgrades. Pre-arrival upgrade prompts sent 24–48 hours before check-in are likely to see strong conversion.
86 total upgrade requestsBaby cots, high chairs, and child beds are among the most requested items at holiday parks. Properties that proactively offer family equipment add-ons when children are included on the reservation — something Runnr.ai can automate — will capture this demand and improve first-night satisfaction.
434 family equipment requestsRequests to make restaurant reservations account for almost 19% of upsell-interested guest requests. Fully automated reservation flows remove friction for guests, and turn reservations into a winning upsell opportunity. Runnr.ai now offers chat-to-table reservation bookings and integrations with third party tools like Zenchef and Guestplan.
270 restaurant requestsWith 266,418 clicks (21.6% of all interactions), "Check-in Times" is easily the most-tapped chatbot menu item. Clicks rise sharply from ~17% in spring to over 27% in winter months (Nov–Feb). This suggests flexible arrivals matter more to guests traveling for holidays.
Pet-related requests appeared in 348 conversations from the past year. Pet-friendly properties should consider proactive communications around their pet policies.
We’ll be bringing our border collie — she’s very well trained. Can you confirm the cottage is pet-friendly and let us know the surcharge?
Holiday park guest (anonymized)It wouldn’t be a report about European travel without mentioning the multilingual nature of modern guests. As travel becomes even more accessible globally, European properties can expect to encounter guests with many different backgrounds and language preferences. Allowing guests to communicate with your staff in their own language is part of the magic of hospitality chatbots like Runnr.ai. Our properties across Europe experience a high density of Dutch, German, French and English, but Runnr.ai is capable of communicating in any language, even if/when on-site staff takes over a conversation.
Note: Runnr.ai has a high density of customer properties located in Benelux. Therefore Dutch language speakers account for a large portion of the data set.
Baby cots, high chairs, child cots, and related baby equipment appear in 434 conversations — making it the 7th largest request category overall. The effect is heavily concentrated in holiday parks (368 mentions vs 60 hotels), where families book multi-night self-catering stays. Missing or incorrectly prepared baby equipment is a significant source of first-night guest dissatisfaction.
We urgently need the additional high chair and baby cot delivered to cottage 510 — we have two small children and mealtime is approaching.
Holiday park guest (anonymized)Runnr.ai helps hotels, holiday parks, hostels, and campsites across Europe automate guest communication — from pre-arrival to post-checkout. Our AI-powered platform handles WhatsApp, SMS, email, OTA inboxes, and webchat conversations in any language, enabling hospitality teams to deliver instant, personalised 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.
of guest communication,
fully automated
of guests say Runnr.ai
enhances their stay
of guests ask more
than one question
And hundreds more across Europe
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