Overnight stays in all accommodation in August 2019 were 1,518,000, compared with 1,565,000 in August last year. Overnight stays in hotels and guesthouses were 711,800, thereof 513,400 in hotels and 198,400 in guesthouses. Overnight stays in apartments, youth hostels, campsites etc. were 566,000, and overnight stays through websites such as Airbnb were approximately 240,000.
The number of overnight stays decreased by 3% from August last year. There was a 0.6% decrease in hotels and guesthouses, 17% decrease in private accommodation through Airbnb etc., and 1.0% increase in other types of accommodation.
2% increase in overnight stays at hotels
Overnight stays in hotels in August 2019 were 513,400, which is a 2% increase from August last year. The number of overnight stays in the Capital area was 250,800, which is the same as August last year. There was a 10% decrease in the West and Westfjords, while the number of overnight stays in hotels increased in all other areas. The greatest proportional increase was 19% in the Southwest region.
Over a twelve month period from September 2018 to August 2019, the total number of overnight stays in hotels was 4,413,000, which is a 1% increase from the preceding 12 month period.
| Overnight stays in hotels | ||||||
| August | September-August | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | % | |
| Total | 504,455 | 513,367 | 2 | 4,390,725 | 4,412,865 | 1 |
| Capital region | 250,839 | 250,776 | 0 | 2,599,278 | 2,503,941 | -4 |
| Southwest | 35,817 | 42,676 | 19 | 304,515 | 311,781 | 2 |
| West and Westfjords | 38,711 | 34,726 | -10 | 223,559 | 248,316 | 11 |
| Northwest and Northe | 49,377 | 50,827 | 3 | 305,470 | 339,327 | 11 |
| East | 18,438 | 20,708 | 12 | 100,237 | 112,546 | 12 |
| South | 111,273 | 113,654 | 2 | 857,666 | 896,954 | 5 |
| Citizenship | ||||||
| Icelanders | 38,002 | 37,491 | -1 | 455,365 | 420,119 | -8 |
| Foreign visitors | 466,453 | 475,876 | 2 | 3,935,360 | 3,992,746 | 1 |
In August 2014, hotel room availability was 6,200 rooms. In August 2019 it was 11,000, which is a 77% increase. In August 2009 there were 4,600 rooms which have since increased by 138%.
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 82.8% in August 2019, and decreased by 2.1 percentage points from August 2018, when it was 84.9%. Over the same period, the number of hotel bedrooms has increased by 5.4%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms in August was highest in the Southwest (89.6%).
| Supply and occupancy rates of hotel bedrooms in August | ||||||
| Number of Hotel bedrooms in August | Room occupancy rate in August | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2018 | 2019 | pp | |
| Total | 10,438 | 10,997 | 5.4% | 84.9% | 82.8% | -2.1 |
| Capital region | 5,145 | 5,339 | 3.8% | 86.3% | 85.3% | -1.1 |
| Southwest | 627 | 750 | 19.6% | 93.5% | 89.6% | -4.0 |
| West and Westfjords | 827 | 923 | 11.6% | 82.3% | 66.9% | -15.4 |
| North | 1,172 | 1,216 | 3.8% | 78.1% | 74.9% | -3.3 |
| East | 439 | 441 | 0.5% | 73.4% | 80.5% | 7.1 |
| South | 2,228 | 2,328 | 4.5% | 86.1% | 85.9% | -0.2 |
Nights spent by foreign tourists in hotels were 475,900, which accounted for 93% of the total number of overnight stays in August. USA residents had the greatest number of overnight stays (145,600), then residents of Germany (51,200) and China (31,000). Overnight stays of Icelanders in August were 37,500.
Additionally, overnight stays in cars other than at campsites were 32,000 and the number of overnight stays with friends and relatives, through exchanges or in other places where no payment was made, were 47,000. Methods for estimating unregistered overnight stays are under development. All estimates of unregistered overnight stays are temporary and subject to change when further information are available, such as on VAT turnover, supply and occupancy rates of establishments offering accommodation through Airbnb.
All numbers for 2019 are preliminary.