B&B Hotels Doubles Down on Europe as Global Growth Gets Tougher

B&B Hotels has built strong momentum in Europe by focusing on the budget hotel market.

The company now has 900 hotels in 19 countries and opened 57 more in 2025.

Europe still offers the clearest growth opportunity

Most of B&B Hotels’ scale comes from France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. These are its core markets, and the company says about 80 percent of future growth will come from these countries or nearby ones.

Many hotel markets in Europe are still fragmented, with a large number of independent properties. That gives chains like B&B Hotels more room to grow. The company says it still sees potential to add around 1,000 more hotels in its main European region.

The strategy is built on consistency

B&B Hotels is not trying to compete with a large portfolio of brands. Its strategy is to offer a clear and consistent product at a good price. CEO Céline Vercollier describes the model as “smart simplicity for the best price,” with no compromise on quality.

B&B Hotels has slightly widened its offer with B&B Home, a longer-stay concept launched in 2024. But this is still close to the group’s main business and does not change its overall direction.

The UK and the US are much harder markets

The UK is a difficult market because strong local brands such as Premier Inn and Travelodge already dominate the budget segment. B&B Hotels believes there is still room for another player, but it is entering a market where the biggest competitors already have scale and strong customer recognition.

The US is an even bigger test. B&B Hotels entered the market in 2023 with a goal of reaching 400 hotels in 10 years, but for now it has only three hotels in Florida. The company says it first needs to test the market, learn, and adapt the product to local expectations, including larger rooms, bigger beds, and amenities such as pools.

B&B’s growth model fits a wider shift toward lower-cost expansion

Major hotel groups are increasingly looking for lower-cost ways to expand as construction and financing remain difficult. Like in IHG, Marriott, and Hyatt's case, when they bet on conversions as midscale gets pricier, that makes B&B’s focus on fragmented European markets, standardization, and selective takeovers look less like a niche strategy and more like part of a wider hotel growth playbook.

Photo by Thomas Oldenburger on Unsplash