Berlin in 2026: plenty of guests, plenty of jobseekers, and still unfilled jobs

In 2025, 12.4 million guests came to Berlin (−2.7%) and stayed 29.4 million nights (−3.8%). Foreign guests accounted for 12.1 million overnight stays; the largest foreign market was the USA with 1.28 million.

At the end of 2025 there were 701 accommodation establishments with at least ten beds. Average bed occupancy was 55.5%, down from 56.8% the year before.

According to provisional figures, real revenue in Berlin hospitality was about 26% below 2019 in 2025, and 4.1% below the previous year. The number of people working in the sector was about 7% below 2019. We calculated both values from the statistics office's index figures.

Businesses are running with smaller teams on noticeably less real business. When one person is off sick or quits, the impact is immediate.

In September 2026, 223,826 people were registered unemployed in Berlin, a rate of 10.4% against 6.4% nationally. There were 20,707 registered vacancies, about eleven unemployed people per registered vacancy across all occupations.

41.1% of Berlin's unemployed do not hold a German passport. That is potential for restaurants, hotels and cleaning, but only if language, work permit, experience and working hours fit the job. That check takes time.

Messe Berlin hosted 124 events in 2025 with about 1.9 million visitors and around 28,800 exhibitors. For hotels, caterers and service providers this means peaks that can only be covered with good planning.

Berlin's bottleneck is less the number of people than the match. Filling roles quickly and for the long term takes a clear description of the requirements, careful screening and structured onboarding.

And anyone who knows their peaks from trade fairs, holidays or the season should plan staffing for them early, not the week before.