Protecting Profitability: Handling the 2026 hotel VAT rise

This year, the VAT on a hotel night saw major increases in Belgium and the Netherlands. Every hotelier in both countries faced the same decision: pass the increase on to guests and risk occupancy, or absorb it and watch your margins shrink.

Most hotels have done a bit of both, but what has it actually cost them?

Explore new market data on occupancy, ADR and RevPAR across Belgium and the Netherlands since the increases took effect. Two hoteliers will explain how they responded: what they changed in their pricing, where they took cost out of operations and how they’re earning more from the space they already have. We’ll finish with what 2027 is likely to bring.

Join us live and you’ll get a free coffee voucher, so your next drink will be on us.

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Webinar Highlights

See what the VAT increases have done to occupancy, ADR and RevPAR in Belgium and the Netherlands, and what the data suggests for 2027.

Explore how other hotels are protecting their margins, from pricing that updates automatically as demand shifts to cutting manual work that pushes operating costs up.

Learn why revenue per available square meter (RevPAM) matters more when room margins are tight, and where your meeting rooms, parking and F&B spaces could be earning more.

Meet your speakers

Matthijs Welle

CEO, Mews

Matt worked in hotels for years, including in sales leadership at Hilton, before joining Mews from its inception. As CEO, he’s spent more than a decade building the system he wishes he’d had back then. He also hosts Matt Talks Hospitality, the Mews podcast for hoteliers.

Judith van Akkeren

Head of Revenue & Distribution, WestCord Hotels

Judith heads up revenue and distribution at WestCord Hotels, a Dutch family business that began with a single hotel in 1968. Today, its properties range from city hotels in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to island stays on the Wadden Islands. Each one needed its own pricing answer when VAT went from 9% to 21%.

Stijn Despodt

Head of Sales & Revenue, C-Hotels

Stijn leads sales and revenue at C-Hotels, a Belgian hotel group with its roots on the coast and a growing presence across the region. He’s responsible for how its hotels price and sell, which put him right at the sharp end when VAT on a night doubled this year.