Editorial

Policy Desk

The HotelScaleUp policy desk — covering short-term rental rules, tourism taxes, and licensing.

Articles by Policy Desk

Booking.com is no longer your distribution partner. It’s your bank.

As Booking.com shifts 70% of its bookings to a merchant-payment model, independent hotels are seeing a critical change in cash flow—and a new challenge to their direct-booking strategy.

By Policy Desk · 2 min read

Graph showing the growth rate of guest nights between January 2026 to February 2026

Market Intelligence

Portugal's tourism growth rate halved in February 2026: The post-pandemic rebound is over.

Portugal's accommodation sector recorded 1.8 million guests in February 2026, up just 0.8% year-on-year: half the growth rate posted in January. The deceleration is the first material slowdown signal since the 2022 post-pandemic recovery began.

By Policy Desk · Apr 22 · 7 min read