October 2026 is the month of season reviews, and they are good. In France, hotels recorded 92 million overnight stays this summer, the mountains are growing, and Haute-Savoie’s occupancy rate rose by 2.7 points. Compagnie des Alpes closed a record year with 1.43 billion euros in revenue and raised its profitability guidance. In Switzerland, hotel overnight stays jumped 5.5 % in September and both forecasting institutes expect a winter at record level. On the supply side, the new season is rich: two 5* hotels in Courchevel Moriond, a developer turning operator in La Tania, a Morzine hotel repositioned under a new brand. Solid demand, visibility on the winter, upscaling products: the mountains enter the season in a position of strength.
On 28 October, Compagnie des Alpes published revenue for its 2025/26 financial year: around 1.43 billion euros, up 2.6 % (+2.2 % like-for-like). Ski areas and outdoor activities drive growth with 632.8 million euros (+6.5 %). The group sold a record 14.2 million skier-days, a quarter of the French market, and average revenue per skier-day rose by 3.5 %. The Distribution and Hospitality division, home to MMV hotels, reached 125.8 million euros: without the temporary closure of the La Plagne Village Club, which reopens in December, its growth would have been 6 %. The group raised its operating EBITDA growth guidance to around 6 %, from 2 to 5 % previously.
Why it matters: With a quarter of all skier-days sold in France, Compagnie des Alpes takes the pulse of the French mountains. The message is twofold: volumes are still growing, and above all value per skier is rising faster than attendance. It shows a clientele that accepts higher prices and trades up, which is exactly the driver of resort hotel RevPAR. The raised profitability guidance confirms the strength of the model ahead of winter. For a hospitality investor, a ski area that invests and gains value directly supports the appeal, and therefore the value, of the real estate at its foot. The reopening of the MMV Village Club in La Plagne adds a positive signal for upscale clubs and residences.
According to the Insee review of the 2026 summer season (May to August), reported by Localtis on 1 October, French hotels recorded 92 million overnight stays, up 1.7 % year on year. All collective accommodation reached 260.5 million overnight stays, 2.8 million more than in 2025 (+1.1 %). Mountain areas totalled 45 million overnight stays, up 1.3 %, and other collective tourist accommodation, including residences, grew by 2.4 % there. International guests accounted for 40 % of hotel overnight stays over the season.
Why it matters: The mountains are no longer just a winter destination: with 45 million summer overnight stays and growing, they confirm that the second season is becoming a lasting source of revenue. For an operator, every extra week of summer opening improves annual occupancy and spreads fixed costs. For an investor, it is a valuation argument: a two-season asset generates more regular income and spreads snow risk better. The growth of residences and collective accommodation in the mountains (+2.4 %) also shows that family formats and serviced apartments find their audience in summer. Assets with a spa, a pool or year-round dining are best placed to capture this demand.
On 19 October, the Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc tourism board published its review of summer 2026, based on data from the G2A observatory. Average occupancy reached 66.3 %, up 2.7 points year on year. Mountain resorts grew faster than the rest of the department: 62.7 % (+3.2 points), and 81.3 % in August. Tourist residences (+8.3 points), holiday villages (+4.1 points) and hotels (+3.8 points) posted the strongest gains. For winter 2026-2027, bookings are ahead for the February holidays (+1.5 points) and for March (+3.3 points), and by 2 points for hotels.
Why it matters: Haute-Savoie ranks among the leading mountain tourism departments in France: its observatory is a benchmark. Two lessons matter for investors. First, resorts are driving the summer growth, which confirms that high-altitude summer is gaining depth. Second, hotels are clearly progressing, a sign that demand is not shifting only to holiday rentals. Winter bookings already ahead for hotels and for March give visibility on 2026-2027 accounts. For sellers and buyers alike, these figures support occupancy assumptions that are prudent but pointing upwards in business plans.
According to the first estimate of the Federal Statistical Office, published on 15 October, hotel overnight stays in Switzerland rose by 5.5 % in September 2026 compared with September 2025. Both markets contributed: +4.4 % for Swiss guests and +6.4 % for international guests. At this stage the FSO only publishes changes: final figures and the regional breakdown will follow.
Why it matters: September is a pivotal month for mountain hotels: it decides whether summer extends or the season ends with the school holidays. Growth of 5.5 % shows that the shoulder season is becoming a real operating period, supported by both domestic and international guests. For an operator, a few extra weeks of opening are enough to improve annual results noticeably. For an investor, it is an argument in favour of properties able to perform outside peak periods: seminars, wellness, gastronomy. September’s momentum also ends a stable Swiss summer on a positive note.
Switzerland’s two forecasting institutes agree. On 27 October, BAK Economics, commissioned by SECO, forecast 18.9 million hotel overnight stays for winter 2026-2027, up 0.9 %, with the same growth for Swiss and international guests. On 30 October, the KOF institute at ETH Zurich forecast around 18.7 million overnight stays, practically the level of the record 2025-2026 winter, with Swiss guests stable at around 9.5 million overnight stays and European guests up 0.8 %. BAK also notes that in July, overnight stays by Swiss guests rose by 8.8 % in Alpine regions.
Why it matters: After a record winter, the question was not whether demand would jump again, but whether it would hold. Both institutes say yes: attendance is staying at its peak. For mountain hotels, stable volume at this level lets growth come from average rates, which protects RevPAR. The strength of Swiss guests, who account for around half of winter overnight stays, reduces dependence on long-haul markets. The shift of domestic demand towards the Alps, visible since July, confirms the advantage of mountain destinations. For an investor, these forecasts provide a solid basis for this season’s business plans and for ongoing valuations.
The Alpine Resorts group, a collection of 16 hotels and residences founded in 1997 and present in five destinations in the French and Swiss Alps, is opening two 5* properties in Courchevel Moriond for the 2026-2027 season. Steamboat, 200 metres from the slopes, offers suites and apartments for 4 to 14 guests, a restaurant, a heated panoramic pool and a spa, from 1,219 euros per night for four. Sundance, a hamlet of chalets 300 metres from the slopes, hosts 4 to 12 guests in its suites and apartments, with an Italian restaurant and a bar, from 1,122 euros per night for four.
Why it matters: Courchevel Moriond, long in the shadow of Courchevel 1850, is establishing itself as an upscaling territory. Two 5* hotels opened in the same season by the same operator is a bet on the depth of very high-end demand in the 3 Vallées. The chosen format is telling: large suites and apartments with hotel services, suited to families and groups of friends, which maximise revenue per unit. For an investor, it shows that a hybrid product between hotel and premium residence can be positioned above 1,000 euros per night. It is also a land value signal for locations close to the slopes in the secondary villages of major resorts.
Real estate developer Groupe Giboire opens the Bârma on 5 December 2026, at the foot of the slopes in Courchevel-La Tania, in the 3 Vallées. The property combines 75 rooms and 70 apartments from 2 to 8 rooms, a Susanne Kaufmann spa, a restaurant, a bar and a large terrace. It is the second address of La French Collection, the hotel brand launched by Giboire in 2026, after Les Cimes Bleues in La Baule. La Tribune de l’Hôtellerie featured it in its roundup of 22 October.
Why it matters: Developers moving into operations is one of the market’s underlying trends. By keeping the operation, Giboire captures the value created by the hotel instead of handing it to a third-party operator, and controls the quality of the product that sells its apartments. The mixed model, hotel rooms and serviced apartments sharing the same facilities, pools the spa, dining and staff. It is the model resort towns are looking for to avoid cold beds, homes left empty most of the year. For an investor, it brings a new category of counterparties: developer-operators with equity and a long-term commitment to the resort.
In Morzine, at the heart of the Portes du Soleil, the former Les Airelles hotel reopens in December 2026 under a new name, Garance Hotel & Spa. The 65-room 4* property joins the Mont-Blanc Collection. It offers a brasserie, a cocktail bar, dedicated spaces for children and teenagers, and a spa with an indoor pool, Nordic area, treatment rooms, yoga and fitness. On 6 October, Euronews listed it among the winter’s notable openings in the Alps, alongside Fahrenheit Seven in Les Menuires, due on 11 December.
Why it matters: Repositioning an existing hotel rather than building is now the fastest way to create value in a resort: land is scarce, permits take time, and well-located buildings keep their location advantage. The Garance illustrates the recipe: a new brand, a recognised collection, a family offer and a spa that opens the door to the shoulder seasons. Morzine, a village resort that is lively all year round, lends itself well to this model. For owners of mid-sized hotels, it shows that a well-executed repositioning rejuvenates the asset and lifts the average rate. For a buyer, this type of target remains one of the best ratios between investment and value creation.
Signal #1: Demand, summer and the shoulder season take hold
92 million overnight stays in French hotels this summer, 45 million in the mountains, Haute-Savoie resorts up 3.2 occupancy points and Swiss overnight stays up 5.5 % in September. The mountains no longer live on winter alone: summer and the shoulder season are becoming full operating periods.
Signal #2: Supply, players trade up and change business models
Two 5* hotels in Courchevel Moriond, a developer turning operator in La Tania, a Morzine hotel repositioned under a new brand. Alpine supply is renewing itself from the top, with mixed hotel and serviced apartment formats that maximise revenue per unit.
Signal #3: Visibility, winter is expected at record level
Compagnie des Alpes raises its profitability guidance, winter bookings are ahead in Haute-Savoie, and Swiss institutes expect a winter at record level. This season’s business plans can rely on demand that is stable at its peak and on growth driven by average rates.
HoliProject Switzerland supports investors and operators in identifying, acquiring and managing hotel and tourism assets in France and Switzerland.
