Where do people search for hotels in North Devon, and when?
Woolacombe is the most searched place for hotels in North Devon, ahead of Barnstaple, Ilfracombe and Bideford. Hotel searches peak in August and bottom out in December. Over the latest 12 months they fell 28% on the year before, but the fall was all outside summer: September to April was down 44%, while May to August was up 6%.
The figures are monthly UK search estimates from Ahrefs Keywords Explorer for 61 North Devon accommodation searches, from September 2024 to August 2026. For 18 places, I added together both ways people search, “hotels in [place]” and “[place] hotels”. I also compared hotel types, holiday cottages, camping and B&Bs.
Which North Devon places get the most hotel searches?
North Devon’s most searched places for hotels
UK searches for “hotels in [place]” and “[place] hotels”, September 2025 to August 2026
- Woolacombe 10,918
- Barnstaple 9,583
- Ilfracombe 6,586
- Bideford 6,258
- Lynmouth 4,103
- Lynton 3,830
- Croyde 3,091
- ExmoorIncludes the Somerset side of Exmoor 2,640
- Combe Martin 1,801
- Clovelly 1,652
- South Molton 1,531
- Westward Ho! 1,478
- Braunton 1,003
- Appledore 813
- Instow 635
View as a table
| Keyword | Type | Searches in 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Woolacombe | 10,918 | |
| Barnstaple | 9,583 | |
| Ilfracombe | 6,586 | |
| Bideford | 6,258 | |
| Lynmouth | 4,103 | |
| Lynton | 3,830 | |
| Croyde | 3,091 | |
| Exmoor | Includes the Somerset side of Exmoor | 2,640 |
| Combe Martin | 1,801 | |
| Clovelly | 1,652 | |
| South Molton | 1,531 | |
| Westward Ho! | 1,478 | |
| Braunton | 1,003 | |
| Appledore | 813 | |
| Instow | 635 |
Source: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer · UK · September 2026
| Place | Searches, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 | Change on the year before |
|---|---|---|
| Woolacombe | 10,918 | −21% |
| Barnstaple | 9,583 | −22% |
| Ilfracombe | 6,586 | −46% |
| Bideford | 6,258 | −43% |
| Lynmouth | 4,103 | −27% |
| Lynton | 3,830 | −29% |
| Croyde | 3,091 | +4% |
Both phrasings added together. Source: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, UK, September 2026.
How people phrase it varies by place. In Woolacombe, “woolacombe hotels” (6,508) is searched more than “hotels in woolacombe”. In Barnstaple it’s the other way round: “hotels in barnstaple” had 6,066 searches and “barnstaple hotels” 3,517. A hotel’s page title and headings should match the way people search for its town.
When do people search for North Devon hotels?
North Devon hotel searches, this year and last
Monthly UK searches across 43 North Devon hotel searches
- Year on year
- −28%
- September to April
- −44%
- May to August
- +6%
- Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
- Sep 2024 to Aug 2025
View as a table
| Month | Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 | Sep 2024 to Aug 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 5,731 | 10,052 |
| Oct 2025 | 4,525 | 8,380 |
| Nov 2025 | 3,616 | 5,919 |
| Dec 2025 | 3,402 | 6,269 |
| Jan 2026 | 4,737 | 8,633 |
| Feb 2026 | 4,722 | 8,645 |
| Mar 2026 | 5,220 | 9,002 |
| Apr 2026 | 5,108 | 8,829 |
| May 2026 | 6,103 | 5,598 |
| Jun 2026 | 6,888 | 5,812 |
| Jul 2026 | 8,637 | 8,155 |
| Aug 2026 | 8,728 | 8,944 |
Source: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer · UK · September 2026
In the latest 12 months, North Devon hotel searches peaked in August (8,728) and were quietest in December (3,402). July and August made up 26% of the year’s searches, and January to March 22%.
The year before looked different. Searches peaked in September 2024, and January to March made up 28% of the year, with July and August only 18%. The early-year lift has mostly gone: fewer people searched for a North Devon hotel months ahead, while summer searches held up.
That matches what I found for Devon’s destinations, where “things to do” searches fell for most seaside towns in the same period.
Hotels vs cottages, camping and B&Bs
Hotels vs cottages, camping and B&Bs
UK searches naming North Devon as a whole, September 2025 to August 2026
- holiday cottages north devonCottages and self-catering 5,675
- hotels in north devon + north devon hotelsHotels 5,546
- glamping north devonCamping, glamping and caravans 3,022
- holiday parks north devonCamping, glamping and caravans 2,896
- camping north devonCamping, glamping and caravans 2,812
- holiday lets north devonCottages and self-catering 1,962
- caravan parks north devonCamping, glamping and caravans 1,768
- self catering north devonCottages and self-catering 1,514
- cottages north devonCottages and self-catering 1,194
- airbnb north devonCottages and self-catering 841
- bed and breakfast north devonB&B 649
- b&b north devonB&B 574
View as a table
| Keyword | Type | Searches in 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| holiday cottages north devon | Cottages and self-catering | 5,675 |
| hotels in north devon + north devon hotels | Hotels | 5,546 |
| glamping north devon | Camping, glamping and caravans | 3,022 |
| holiday parks north devon | Camping, glamping and caravans | 2,896 |
| camping north devon | Camping, glamping and caravans | 2,812 |
| holiday lets north devon | Cottages and self-catering | 1,962 |
| caravan parks north devon | Camping, glamping and caravans | 1,768 |
| self catering north devon | Cottages and self-catering | 1,514 |
| cottages north devon | Cottages and self-catering | 1,194 |
| airbnb north devon | Cottages and self-catering | 841 |
| bed and breakfast north devon | B&B | 649 |
| b&b north devon | B&B | 574 |
Source: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer · UK · September 2026
Searching for North Devon as a whole, hotels and holiday cottages are neck and neck: 5,546 searches for “hotels in north devon” and “north devon hotels”, and 5,675 for “holiday cottages north devon”. Camping, glamping, caravan and holiday park searches added up to 10,498, almost twice either.
They’re searched at different times, too:
- Cottages are booked earliest. 27% of cottage and self-catering searches came from January to March.
- Camping and caravans are the most last-minute. 30% of their searches came in July and August.
- Hotels sit in between, and peaked a month later than other stays, in August rather than July.
Which kinds of hotel do people search for?
The biggest hotel type search was “hotels north devon coast” (1,645 searches in 12 months, up from 705), then “spa hotels north devon” (1,290), “luxury hotels north devon” (856) and “dog friendly hotels north devon” (508). All are small compared with the town searches, but each is a clear reason to choose a hotel, and worth a mention on the pages of hotels that offer it.
What does Google show for these searches?
Ahrefs recorded no AI Overview on any of the 61 searches, and a map pack only on “camping north devon”. People also ask appeared on 33 of the 43 hotel searches. Ahrefs doesn’t label Google’s own hotel listings, which usually appear on these searches, so the page is busier than that suggests. But for now, North Devon hotel searches are decided by rankings, listings and reviews, not AI summaries.
What does this mean for North Devon hotels?
Win the summer searches. They held up while the rest of the year fell. Make sure room pages, prices and availability are clear and up to date by May.
Match how people search for your town. “woolacombe hotels” and “hotels in barnstaple” are the bigger phrasing in each place. Use the one that fits.
Say what makes you different. Coast, spa, dogs and luxury are all searched for. If you offer them, put them in your page titles and headings.
Your direct website competes with cottages and camping, not just other hotels. See SEO for hotels and SEO in Devon and North Devon. For the camping and caravan side, see Devon holiday park search seasonality.
To see where your own hotel site stands, run a free SEO health check on your rooms page, or read what a fixed-price SEO audit includes.
How was this measured?
I used Ahrefs Keywords Explorer’s UK database to pull monthly search estimates for 61 North Devon accommodation searches from September 2024 to August 2026. Place totals add together “hotels in [place]” and “[place] hotels”. The hotel total covers the 36 place searches and 7 hotel type searches. Changes compare September 2025 to August 2026 with the 12 months before. Search result features are the ones Ahrefs recorded for each keyword in September 2026.
Limits. Ahrefs’ monthly figures are modelled estimates, so they’re best used for the shape of the year rather than exact counts, and the size of the year-on-year fall should be read with that in mind. Small places have irregular monthly data, so their changes (for example Instow, South Molton and Mortehoe) aren’t reported. Exmoor includes the Somerset side of the moor, and area-wide searches like “hotels in north devon” overlap with the town searches. Torrington is left out because Ahrefs had no data for it, and two hotel type searches had no data either.