European Hotel Awards 2026: A European Platform for Hospitality Excellence

European Hotel Awards 2026 — Bordighera

On 28 September 2026, the European Hotel Awards will gather the hospitality community in Bordighera for an eighth edition shaped around recognition, professional achievement and the diversity of European hotel culture.

The European Hotel Awards have gradually developed into more than a presentation of trophies. Their purpose is to create a meeting point for hotels, executives, specialists and hospitality personalities whose work reflects the many ways in which the European hotel industry continues to evolve.

The 2026 ceremony will be hosted on Monday 28 September at the Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa in Bordighera, on the Italian Riviera. The setting places this edition at a natural Mediterranean crossroads, close to the French border and within a region where several European hospitality traditions meet.

From a ceremony to a European hospitality platform

The identity of the European Hotel Awards is built on breadth rather than on a single definition of excellence. A celebrated palace, an independent property, a specialist manager, a destination or an emerging hotel project may each deserve recognition for different reasons. The common thread is not simply prestige, but the strength of a vision and the quality of its execution.

This approach gives people the same editorial importance as properties. Service culture, leadership, operational expertise and the ability to build a distinctive guest experience are considered alongside architecture, location and hotel positioning. The result is a deliberately human reading of European hospitality.

Bordighera as the setting for the eighth edition

Choosing Bordighera also gives the 2026 event a particular tone. The Riviera combines an international outlook with a strong tradition of travel, resort life and Mediterranean hospitality. For an event bringing together participants from different European countries, the destination provides an elegant and accessible setting without losing its own character.

The programme on 28 September will extend beyond the awards presentation itself. Official photography and video interviews will precede the evening cocktail, ceremony and gala dinner. This format is designed to create material that can continue to showcase the laureates through editorial, photographic and audiovisual coverage after the event.

A new institutional film for 2026

Ahead of the ceremony, the European Hotel Awards are also presenting a new institutional film. Rather than functioning as a simple event trailer, the production sets out the broader philosophy of the Awards and the ambition to build a recognisable European identity over time.

The film forms part of a wider communication strategy aimed at professionals, media and international partners. It reflects an organisation that is seeking continuity from one edition to the next while giving each year its own destination, personalities and editorial narrative.

Hotels, leaders and specialist expertise in the same selection

One of the defining features of the European Hotel Awards is the coexistence of very different profiles within a single edition. Established international groups can appear alongside independent houses; highly visible general managers can be recognised next to professionals whose roles are less public but essential to the guest experience.

That range offers a broader picture of European hospitality. It acknowledges that hotel excellence is produced by many forms of expertise and by very different cultural, operational and regional contexts.

Recognition intended to continue beyond 28 September

The significance of an award is not limited to the few minutes during which it is presented. The objective is for each distinction to become a lasting element in the story of the hotel, professional or destination concerned, supporting international visibility and providing a reference point for future communication.

With its eighth edition, the European Hotel Awards therefore continue to strengthen an independent European platform centred on hospitality, professional recognition and the people who give hotels their individual character.

Official European Hotel Awards website