Azerbaijan Hotel Market Report

Online demand for hotels in Azerbaijan grew modestly in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Total bookings increased by 5.0% nationwide and by 9.3% in Baku, with most of the growth driven by OTAs. At the same time, direct bookings through Baku hotel websites declined by 20% year over year.

Regional destinations showed a different trend. While direct bookings remained stable compared to 2025, OTA bookings declined by 13.6%, suggesting that hotel websites continue to play a stronger role in attracting repeat guests outside the capital.

The highest number of stays in the first half of 2026 fell between weeks 18 and 22 (late April to late May), reflecting Azerbaijan's typical spring peak driven by favorable weather, business travel, and leisure demand.

Unlike destinations with a strong resort season, Baku remained the country's primary demand driver throughout the first half of the year, accounting for 70–89% of all stayed room nights.

Looking ahead, the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix remains the key demand period for the second half of 2026. As of early July, bookings for the event week had reached around one-third of last year's level, reflecting the market's typical booking pattern, with most event-related reservations made 30–60 days before arrival.

Guests are booking further in advance through hotel websites. Compared to the first half of 2025, the share of bookings made 31+ days ahead rose by 3 percentage points in Baku and 3.1 percentage points elsewhere. OTAs showed the opposite trend, capturing a growing share of demand close to arrival.

Outside Baku, booking windows remain shorter: 38% of website bookings are made 0–3 days before arrival, compared to 34.8% in the capital. In Baku, 22.2% of direct bookings are made 31+ days ahead, showing potential to grow early website bookings. Meanwhile, 44.4% of OTA bookings are made within 0–3 days, making OTAs important for filling remaining availability.

Average Booking Window (Hotel Websites)

Average Booking Window (OTA)

The guest mix shifted in the first half of 2026. Demand from the UAE and Saudi Arabia declined across both hotel websites and OTAs. The UAE recorded the largest drop in OTA share nationwide, down 4.0 percentage points. Meanwhile, Israel's OTA share grew by 2.5 percentage points across Azerbaijan and 3.4 percentage points in Baku.

Domestic demand became more important for direct sales. The share of Azerbaijani guests on hotel websites rose from 13.2% to 16.8% nationwide and from 3.6% to 6.2% in Baku.

Share of Bookings by Guest Country and Channel

The average length of stay increased across both booking channels in the first half of 2026. OTA bookings recorded the strongest growth year over year. The average length of direct stays also increased, although more modestly (+0.1 nights across Azerbaijan and +0.3 nights in Baku).

Baku continued to outperform the national average, with guests booking through hotel websites staying 3.2 nights on average compared to 2.5 nights across Azerbaijan. The largest gap between booking channels was recorded in April and May, when direct bookings averaged 3.5–3.7 nights versus 2.9–3.2 nights through OTAs, giving hotel websites an advantage of up to 0.6 nights.

In the first half of 2026, ADR increased by 7.1% year over year for direct bookings but declined by 12.6% for OTA bookings. As a result, the pricing gap reversed: in 2025, OTA ADR was $4.6 higher than direct-booking ADR, whereas in 2026, direct-booking ADR was $13.7 higher than OTA ADR.

The sharpest decline was recorded in April, when OTA ADR fell by 26.8% following weaker demand from high-spending Middle Eastern markets. In contrast, ADR on hotel websites remained stable, increasing by 2.4%, demonstrating that direct bookings were more resilient during a period of market volatility.

ADR, All Hotels, Azerbaijan

Booking.com remained Azerbaijan's largest OTA, although its share fell from 58.7% to 50.4%. The decline coincided with weaker demand from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where the platform has traditionally been dominant.

Emerging Travel Group became the second-largest OTA, increasing its share from 9.9% to 15.8% as Russian demand grew. Meanwhile, Hotelbeds lost nearly 4 percentage points.

Trip.com Group more than doubled its share from 1.8% to 4.5%, while Tiket.com entered the top 10 for the first time, indicating growing demand from Asian markets.