Oktoberfest 2026: Occupancy Rises In The Second Week

The Opening Weekend Came In 5.0% Behind, but Occupancy Held at 80.9%

Oktoberfest opened on September 19, so the first weekend is now measured rather than projected. Munich’s Airbnb and short-term rental listings filled 5.0% fewer nights than the equivalent weekend last year, but occupancy landed within half a percentage point of it, at 80.9%, and the average daily rate (ADR) on those nights rose 12.2%, to €210.

The City Around the Festival Is Down 15.6%

The more telling figure is what happened in the two weeks before. Munich’s sixteen nights ahead of the festival are down 15.6% on demand, with occupancy off 8.7 percentage points and RevPAR down 7.8%. The festival window holds its ground while the dates around Oktoberfest give way, and the gap closes cleanly as opening day approaches. The deficit narrows from 19% year over year in the middle of September to 5% on opening Saturday. Munich is full because of Oktoberfest, not because demand into the city is strong.

The Second Week Is Absorbing What the Opening Days Lost

Across the fourteen nights still ahead, the weight has moved to the second week. Nights on the books are 1.3% up on the same point last year, with occupancy 1.3 percentage points higher, but that average hides a split. The first stretch runs 1% to 6% behind, while the second Monday through Thursday are up 7% to 17%, with occupancy gains of 6 to 9 percentage points. Those four days were the emptiest of the 2025 festival, so there was room to absorb the shift.

The festival is not filling in more, it is filling in flatter, and the calendar works against that reading rather than for it. German Unity Day falls on a Saturday this year and yields no extra day off, where last year it created a long weekend.

Travelers Are Booking Later

Reservations are 2.8% ahead of last year at matched lead time, and median lead time has fallen to 72 days from 75, so travelers are not committing earlier. More bookings are arriving last minute in 2026. The extra volume sits in the 31-to-60-day window rather than in long-range planning, and stays have converged at around 3.45 nights.

Roughly 12% of this year’s eventual bookings are still to come, judged against how last year’s curve filled, so the closing days can still move.

Growth Sits in Larger Properties and Higher Price Tiers

Growth by segment sits in larger properties and in rates. Studios and one-bedroom units are 79% of the Oktoberfest book and now run slightly behind last year, while everything from three bedrooms up grows between 25% and 73%, which reads as groups booking together. Four-bedroom and larger stays are still under 3% of total demand.

Occupancy gains rise with price tier to upscale, at 6.7 percentage points, and ease at luxury. Budget is the only tier losing occupancy, and it is also the tier closest to full, so it has the least headroom.

What the Opening Weekend Changed

The opening weekend is the part of this festival that is now settled, and it landed below where the forward book had pointed. Days one and two came in 5.0% below last year, and the book across the remaining fourteen nights has eased to 1.3% ahead. Taken together, the full sixteen-night window now looks more likely to land flat or slightly negative than positive, with what gains there are showing up as ADR increases across the board rather than as extra nights sold.

For hosts, that spread is the practical read. Within a single sixteen-night festival, Tuesday September 22 is running 5.0% behind last year while Tuesday September 29 is 17.2% ahead, which is a wide gap to cover with one festival-wide rate. AirDNA Adapt prices each night against real demand and your true comp set, so two Tuesdays in the same festival are not treated as the same night.

FAQs

How is Oktoberfest 2026 performing for Munich Airbnb hosts?

The opening weekend filled 5.0% fewer nights than the equivalent weekend in 2025, though occupancy held within half a percentage point at 80.9% and the average daily rate rose 12.2%, to €210. Across the fourteen nights still ahead, nights on the books are 1.3% up on the same point last year. The full sixteen-night window now looks more likely to land flat or slightly negative than positive.

Which Oktoberfest nights are gaining the most demand in 2026?

The second week. The second Monday through Thursday are up 7% to 17% on nights booked, with occupancy gains of 6 to 9 percentage points, while the first stretch of the festival runs behind last year. Those four days were the emptiest of the 2025 festival, so there was room to absorb the shift.

Is Munich’s short-term rental market strong outside Oktoberfest?

No. The sixteen nights ahead of the festival are down 15.6% on demand, with occupancy off 8.7 percentage points and RevPAR down 7.8%. The deficit narrows from 19% year over year in the middle of September to 5% on opening Saturday, so Munich is full because of Oktoberfest rather than because demand into the city is strong.

How far in advance do travelers book Oktoberfest accommodation?

Median lead time has fallen to 72 days from 75, and reservations are 2.8% ahead of last year at matched lead time, so the extra volume is arriving later rather than earlier. It sits in the 31-to-60-day window rather than in long-range planning. Roughly 12% of this year’s eventual bookings are still to come.

Which property types and price tiers are gaining at Oktoberfest 2026?

Larger properties and the upper middle of the price ladder. Studios and one-bedroom units are 79% of the Oktoberfest book and run slightly behind last year, while everything from three bedrooms up grows between 25% and 73%. Occupancy gains rise with price tier to upscale, at 6.7 percentage points, then ease at luxury, and budget is the only tier losing occupancy.