Investment approach
Hotels on the Catalan Coast: How They Differ from City Hotels
A coastal hotel earns most of its income in three summer months: per INE, Sitges RevPAR in 2025 ranged from 36 € to 174 €, and Barcelona's from 85 € to 201 €. That changes the whole risk structure.
A coastal hotel differs from a city hotel first of all in seasonality: in 2025, according to INE, Sitges RevPAR was 35.93 € in December and 173.66 € in August, a gap of 4.8 times, while in Barcelona the gap is 2.4 times. This brings a different load on the liquidity reserve and different regulation: PEUAT does not apply on the coast, but the Ley de Costas (Coastal Act) does.
How much stronger seasonality is on the coast
Source: INE, RevPAR by tourist destination and by zone, and occupancy by destination, hotels, 2025. The annual RevPAR and the month shares are my calculation, weighted by the number of days.
| Barcelona | Sitges | Costa Brava (INE zone) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RevPAR for 2025, average | 143.7 € | 105.0 € | 59.3 € |
| Best month | 201.31 € (May) | 173.66 € (August) | 128.26 € (August) |
| Worst month | 84.77 € (January) | 35.93 € (December) | 33.04 € (January) |
| Best to worst | 2.4 times | 4.8 times | 3.9 times |
| Share of the three best months in annual room revenue | 32% | 40% | 44% |
| Room occupancy, range | 63.6–86.0% | 34.3–79.9% | not available for the zone |
The Sitges and Costa Brava figures refer to the hotels INE counts and do not describe a specific property exactly. For the Costa Brava I took the INE zone and did not take occupancy for it. The conclusion is simple: on the coast three months make up to 44% of the year, in the city 32%.
What this means for cash flow
A worked example, not a forecast. I take the same model as in the article on Barcelona's seasonality: 50 rooms, costs of 40% of annual revenue fixed and even, 25% variable, fee 3%, fixed charges 6%, FF&E reserve 4%. The revenue profile follows 2025 RevPAR.
| Barcelona | Sitges | |
|---|---|---|
| Room revenue for the year | 2.62 M€ | 1.92 M€ |
| Months with negative cash flow | 2 | 5 |
| Cash flow for the year | about 577,000 € | about 421,000 € |
| Maximum drawdown from peak (no debt, year-to-year cycle) | about 21,000 € | about 76,000 € |
Annual profitability in the model is the same by construction, because costs are set as a share of revenue. The difference is elsewhere: the drawdown in Sitges is about 18% of the annual result, in Barcelona about 4%. A coastal hotel needs a larger liquidity reserve, and the lender a payment schedule fitted to the season. The operator may close the hotel for the winter, and that changes the calculation: I did not model it.
How regulation differs
- PEUAT does not apply outside Barcelona. It is Barcelona's city plan, whose zones are described in the article on PEUAT. In Sitges and on the Costa Brava a hotel is allowed or not by the local urban plan (POUM) and Catalonia-wide tourism law. The basis is Decret 159/2012, covered in the article on types of accommodation.
- Ley de Costas. In the zona de servidumbre de protección (protection easement zone), 100 metres from the shore with a possible extension by another 100 metres (art. 23), buildings for "residencia o habitación" (residential use) are prohibited (art. 25.1). For land that was already suelo urbano (urban land) when the law came into force, a transitional rule (disposición transitoria tercera, para. 3) narrows the strip to 20 metres and preserves existing buildings. Whether this applies to a specific hotel and an already built building is for an abogado and the Demarcación de Costas to decide. For the plot in Sitges see the DNPI case: it was a land plot, not a hotel.
- Lower tourist tax. In Catalonia outside Barcelona the rates for the period from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 are as follows: 5* hotel 4.50 €, 4* hotel 1.80 € per person per night. Municipal surcharges were introduced from 1 October 2026 by Castelldefels, Esplugues, L'Hospitalet, El Prat, Sabadell, Sant Cugat and Sant Just Desvern; Sitges and the Costa Brava municipalities are not on the ATC list at the time of checking. The tax is covered in the article on the tourist tax.
What to check before buying a coastal hotel
- Monthly revenue for three years, not an annual figure.
- The Ley de Costas position for the building and its location relative to the servidumbre zone.
- The operator's working calendar: whether the hotel closes in December-February and how that is written into the contract.
- Who hires seasonal staff. In European management contracts, per HVS (2017), the owner more often formally employs the staff; details in the article on lease and management.
- Who the buyer is on exit: a city hotel has more buyers, a coastal one a narrower circle, but I have no market figures to support this.
Who a coastal hotel does not suit
Anyone who needs an even cash flow month by month, or who cannot hold a reserve for five weak months. And anyone without an operator experienced in seasonal business specifically. The general framework for DNPI's hotel projects is on the hotel strategies page, and you can sketch your own assumptions in the calculator.
Questions and answers
How does a hotel on the coast differ from a city hotel?
Seasonality is stronger: per INE for 2025, Sitges RevPAR in August is 4.8 times the December figure, and in Barcelona the gap is 2.4 times. The rules differ too: PEUAT works only in Barcelona, while on the coast the Ley de Costas comes in.
What is hotel occupancy in Sitges?
According to INE, room occupancy in Sitges in 2025 ran from 34.3% in December to 79.9% in August.
Does PEUAT apply in Sitges or on the Costa Brava?
No, it is the plan of the city of Barcelona. There, local planning and Catalonia-wide tourism law apply.
Does a hotel on the coast need to close for the winter?
The operator decides on the economics of the season. Per INE for 2025, Sitges RevPAR in December is 35.9 € and Costa Brava's in January 33.0 €, against about 85 € in Barcelona in those months.
