Gitnux/Report 2026

Hotel and Travel Industry Statistics

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Hotel and Travel Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Gitnux editors write the brief first: the topic, the inclusion rules, and the frame for what belongs.

02Source Research

Agents search the published record and log every extracted figure back to the passage it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The hotel and travel industry at a glance

Travel and tourism reached a record $11.6 trillion in global GDP contribution in 2025, equal to 9.8% of the world economy, while hotel networks continued expanding rapidly.

$11.6T[20]
Global GDP contribution, 2025
1.52B[22]
International arrivals, 2025
366M[20]
Travel and tourism jobs, 2025
1.78M[82]
Marriott rooms worldwide, 2025
Market size
Travel and tourism contributed $11.6 trillion to global GDP in 2025, representing 9.8% of the global economy. The sector also supported 366 million jobs worldwide in 2025.[20]
Forecast & CAGR
WTTC forecasts travel and tourism's economic contribution will reach $16.5 trillion by 2035. Based on the published 2025 and 2035 endpoints, this implies an approximate 3.6% compound annual growth rate over 2025–2035.[20]
Market share & regions
Europe remained the largest international tourism destination region in 2024, receiving 747 million arrivals, or approximately 51% of the global total reported by UN Tourism. Tourism power is concentrated among major economies: the 20 highest-ranked economies accounted for 81% of global travel and tourism GDP in 2024.[22][20]
Segmentation
The sector spans hotels and similar accommodation, alternative accommodation, transport, food and beverage, attractions, travel agencies and online booking platforms. In the European Union in 2025, hotels and similar accommodation generated 1.9 billion nights, compared with 743 million nights in holiday dwellings and other short-stay accommodation and 413 million camping nights.[99]
Key players & concentration
Large branded hotel groups are expanding through franchising, licensing and conversions. Marriott ended 2025 with approximately 1.78 million rooms and a pipeline of nearly 610,000 rooms, while Hilton reported 1.35 million rooms across 9,158 properties and a development pipeline of approximately 520,500 rooms.[82][54]
Pricing
Marriott reported that worldwide comparable RevPAR increased 2.0% in 2025, driven by a 2.1% increase in average daily rate. The figures indicate that hotel operators continued to raise room prices even as occupancy growth remained more moderate.[100]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand is being supported by the recovery and continued growth of international travel, with 1.52 billion international tourists recorded in 2025, up 4% year over year. At the same time, the sector faces sustainability pressure: travel and tourism accounted for 6.5% of global emissions in 2023, according to WTTC research.[22][20]
Consumer behavior & competition
Online platforms are broadening competition between hotels and alternative accommodation. Alternative accommodation represented approximately 37% of Booking.com's room nights in the second quarter of 2026, while Marriott reported that Bonvoy members accounted for 75% of U.S. room nights in 2025, highlighting the importance of loyalty ecosystems and direct bookings.[54][82]
M&A
Consolidation continued through brand acquisitions and portfolio expansion. Marriott completed its acquisition of citizenM in July 2025, adding the lifestyle brand to its portfolio; the company also added more than 700 properties and nearly 100,000 rooms to its system during 2025.[82]
Regulation
The European Union's Regulation 2024/1028 establishes data-collection and data-sharing requirements for short-term accommodation platforms and hosts. The European Commission reported that EU guests spent 951.6 million nights in platform-booked short-term rentals in 2025, increasing regulatory scrutiny of alternative accommodation.[1][101]
Latest news
On November 4, 2026, WTTC and OMRAN Group launched the Power, Efficiency & Opportunity indices, reporting that the top 20 economies accounted for 81% of global travel and tourism GDP in 2024. The initiative adds economic, environmental and social measures to industry benchmarking.[20]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Hotel And Travel Industry

The leading companies in the hotel and travel industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Royal Caribbean Group leads Gitnux's 2026 hotel and travel ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with 2025 revenue of $17.9 billion and ~108,000 employees, as reported. Hilton is the highest-ranked hotel brand operator at 9.2, driven by 2025 growth adding nearly 100,000 rooms and reaching 9,000 hotels.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in cruise travel

    Royal Caribbean Group

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.3 · Cruise travel

    Why we picked it: It runs global cruise travel and private destinations, with 2025 revenue growth of 8.8% and operating margin of 27.4%.

    See in ranking ↓Visit royalcaribbeangroup.com ↗

  2. Leader in branded hotel networks

    Hilton

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.2 · Branded hotel networks

    Why we picked it: It operates global hotel brands and lodging, and 2025 operating margin reached 22.4% with revenue growth of 7.7%.

    See in ranking ↓Visit hilton.com ↗

  3. Leader in budget accommodation

    OYO

    IN

    Ranked #3 · 9.0 · Budget accommodation

    Why we picked it: It focuses on budget accommodation across multiple countries via operating and franchise models.

    See in ranking ↓Visit oyorooms.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the hotel and travel industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Royal Caribbean Group

Cruise travel · US

9.3
2

Hilton

Branded hotel networks · US

9.2
3

OYO

Budget accommodation · IN

9.0
4

InterContinental Hotels Group

Branded hotel networks · GB

8.9
5

H World Group

Branded hotel networks · CN

8.8
6

Carnival Corporation

Global cruise travel and hospitality · BM

8.8
7

Hyatt

Luxury, resort and full-service hotels · US

8.7
8

TUI Group

Integrated tourism, hotels, cruises and airlines · DE

8.5
9

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Luxury hotels and resorts worldwide · HK

8.3
10

Meliá Hotels International

Hotels and resorts across Europe and the Americas · ES

8.2

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the hotel and travel industry. In Hotel And Travel Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/hotel-and-travel-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest hotel and travel companies

Carnival Corporation leads with $26.6B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

Carnival Corporation$26.6B
TUI Group$26.1B
Royal Caribbean Group$17.9B
Hilton$12.0B
Hyatt$7.1B
InterContinental Hotels Group$5.2B
source-verifiedcarnivalcorp.com · annualreport.tuigroup.com · sec.gov · ir.hilton.com · ihgplc.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI adoption is now widespread across hotel chains: 91% reported using AI in 2026, and 70% expected AI-driven booking channels to lift direct-booking volume.

AI in the hotel and travel industry

  • 23% of European tourism SMEs had adopted artificial intelligence in 2024, up from 8% two years earlier.[1]
  • 70% of hotel-chain respondents expected AI-driven booking channels to increase direct-booking volume over the following one to two years in 2026.[2]
  • 41% of surveyed European hotels reported using AI in 2025, while 43% reported no AI use and 16% planned near-term adoption.[3]
  • 60% of reported hotel-chain AI use involved external tools such as ChatGPT in 2026, while vendor-embedded AI accounted for 27%.[2]
  • 91% of hotel chains reported using AI in 2026, while 8% planned adoption within 12–24 months, based on a global survey of 113 chains.[2]
  • 22% of hotel chains systematically monitored their visibility in AI-generated search and recommendation results in 2026.[2]

Automation in the hotel and travel industry

  • 39% of global travelers wanted a fully contactless experience for basic hotel transactions, including check-in, food and beverage, and room keys, in 2022.[4]
  • 43% of surveyed U.S. travelers said in-room smart-home devices should be part of a perfect hotel in 2024.[2]
  • 25% was the reported increase in upsell conversion at hotels using Mews kiosks in 2025.[5]
  • 80% of surveyed U.S. travelers said they would stay at a hotel with a completely automated front desk or self-service kiosk in 2024.[2]
  • 34% of surveyed U.S. travelers identified keyless room entry as a preferred hotel feature in 2024.[2]
  • 30% of hotel guests used Mews kiosks in properties offering them in 2025, reducing check-in time by one-third.[5]

Digital Transformation in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • 80% of travel and hospitality respondents reported siloed, transactional, or consultative relationships between business and information-technology teams.[6]
  • 59% of active travel and hospitality respondents were at the piloting or deploying stage of AI adoption in Adobe’s global research.[6]
  • 69% of lodging-technology survey respondents identified integrating new technology with legacy systems as a moderate or major 2024 industry challenge.[5]
  • 47% of hotels in Andalusia rated their infrastructure capacity for digital transformation as high or very high in the study period.[7]

Technology Adoption in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • 83% of travel and hospitality executives said they increased AI budgets in 2024, according to the Skift-AWS industry survey.[8]
  • 89% of travel and hospitality executives expected generative AI to have a meaningful business impact within three years.[8]
  • 14% of travel buyers said they were already using AI in their travel programs in the October 2024 GBTA poll.[2]
  • 49% of global travel programs planned to increase technology investment for 2025, based on a GBTA poll of travel-industry professionals.[2]

Cloud Computing in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • 67% of travel and hospitality companies were in advanced stages of cloud adoption globally in 2024, according to a survey of industry executives.[8]
  • 69% of hospitality respondents used a hybrid-cloud deployment model globally in 2023, compared with 31% using public cloud only.[9]
  • 67% of travel and hospitality companies were in advanced stages of cloud adoption in the 2024 Skift-AWS industry survey.[8]
  • 79% of travel and tourism companies surveyed by the World Economic Forum reported cloud computing among technologies expected to be adopted.[10]
  • 29% of hospitality respondents reported full cloud maturity for critical applications and workloads globally, while 38% said they were well on the way in 2023.[9]

Big Data in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • 18.8% of hotels in an Andalusian study rated their implementation of big-data tools as high or very high.[7]
  • 89% of travel and tourism companies surveyed by the World Economic Forum reported user and entity big-data analytics among technologies expected to be adopted.[10]
  • 62.8% of hotels in an Andalusian study rated their implementation of big-data tools as low or very low.[7]
  • More than eight in ten worldwide travel buyers considered data analytics extremely or very important to their travel programs in April 2025.[11]

Blockchain in the hotel and travel industry

  • 30% fewer booking variations were reported in a blockchain-based airline-reservation study using consensus processes and synchronized records.[12]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data integration gaps show up in operating time and confidence: 27% of hotel operators use more than seven technology platforms, and only 11% report a fully integrated stack in 2026.

Business intelligence in the hotel and travel industry

  • 31% of independent hoteliers used manual spreadsheets as their primary reporting source for evaluating performance and productivity.[4]
  • 21% of hotel group-travel teams used business intelligence regularly in the Amadeus hospitality survey.[13]
  • 51% of independent hoteliers used BI analytical tools as their primary reporting source for evaluating performance and productivity.[4]
  • 23% of hotel distribution teams used business intelligence regularly in the Amadeus hospitality survey.[13]
  • 35% of hotel chief financial officers used business-intelligence data tools regularly in the Amadeus hospitality survey.[13]
  • 4% of hotel organizations reported that nobody currently used business intelligence in the Amadeus hospitality survey.[13]

Data analytics in the hotel and travel industry

  • 29% of airline and hotel leaders used industry-trend analysis to anticipate customer behavior in 2024.[14]
  • 34% of airline and hotel leaders used external data such as weather, holidays and major events to anticipate customer behavior in 2024.[14]
  • About two-thirds of travel buyers collected and analyzed data from online booking tools in 2025.[11]
  • Approximately 90% of travel buyers used their travel-management company as a major source of travel data in 2025.[11]
  • More than 80% of travel buyers considered data analytics extremely or very important in the 2025 global travel-buyer survey.[11]
  • 25% of airline and hotel leaders used external competitive data platforms or sources to anticipate customer behavior in 2024.[14]

Data Quality in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • 27% of hotel operators used more than seven technology platforms in 2026, increasing the risk of fragmented and inconsistent operational data.[2]
  • 27% of hotel operators spent more than 11 hours per week consolidating or reconciling data in 2026.[2]
  • 69% of travel and hospitality companies training AI models wasted resources on bad data in 2025, according to a Salesforce survey of business leaders.[15]
  • 47% of business leaders were fully confident in their organizations’ data accuracy in 2025, across the broader business sample reported by Salesforce.[15]
  • 15% of hotel owners and operators were very confident in the accuracy and timeliness of their operational data in 2026.[2]

Data Governance in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • Only 11% of hotel owners and operators reported a fully integrated technology stack in 2026, indicating limited enterprise-wide data integration.[2]
  • 97% of travel and hospitality business leaders said a strong data foundation was the most critical factor for AI deployment in 2025.[15]
  • 91% of hotel owners and operators still relied on some manual reporting within automated workflows in 2026, highlighting incomplete process standardization.[2]
  • 51% of hoteliers said regulation helped their commercial goals in 2025, while 20% said it hindered them, in a survey covering hotel distribution professionals.[16]
  • 78% of travel and hospitality business leaders said data-governance policies varied across departments in 2025.[15]

KPIs in the hotel and travel industry

  • 77.4% of hotel revenue-management respondents preferred RevPAR for measuring performance.[13]
  • 13.7% of hotel revenue-management respondents preferred TRevPAR for measuring performance.[13]
  • 3.9% of hotel revenue-management respondents used other performance measures beyond the principal metrics surveyed.[13]
  • 7.1% was the increase in average daily rate reported for the HotelData sample in the first half of 2026.[17]
  • 20.4% of hotel revenue-management respondents preferred GOPPAR for measuring performance.[13]
  • 53% of German hotels actively tracked average daily rate to evaluate performance.[18]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Demand remains supported by international travel recovery, with 1.52 billion international tourists arriving in 2025 and international arrivals up 4% year over year.

Growth in the hotel and travel industry

  • 7.3% was Hyatt’s net rooms growth in 2025, including acquisitions.[19]
  • 1.54 billion international overnight arrivals were recorded in 2025, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.[20]
  • 4.8 billion global hotel room nights were reached through November 2024, 102 million more than in 2023.[21]
  • 1.52 billion international tourists arrived worldwide in 2025, up 4% from 2024.[22]
  • 4% was global hotel RevPAR growth through November 2024.[21]
  • $11.6 trillion was the global economic contribution of travel and tourism in 2025, up 4.1% from 2024.[23]

Differentiation in the hotel and travel industry

  • 70% of IHG room nights in the United States and Americas were attributable to loyalty members in 2024.[24]
  • 12 million personalized hotel-to-guest messages were sent by IHG in 2024, up 84% from the prior year.[24]
  • 20% more was spent in IHG hotels by loyalty members than by non-members in 2024.[24]
  • 145 million members were enrolled in IHG One Rewards in 2024, supporting the company’s loyalty-led differentiation strategy.[24]
  • 60% of IHG’s globally booked room nights were attributable to loyalty members in 2024.[24]
  • 13% was the 2025 increase in Hyatt members staying more than 50 nights annually compared with 2024.[25]

Mergers and acquisitions in the hotel and travel industry

  • $10.8 billion was global travel, leisure and hospitality M&A activity in the first half of 2025, up 17.3% year over year.[26]
  • 820 hospitality and leisure deals were announced in the United States in 2024, up 5% year over year.[27]
  • 146.8% was the increase in strategic travel, leisure and hospitality deal value in 2025.[27]
  • $2.4 billion was travel deal value across 74 transactions in 2025.[27]
  • $49.2 billion was hospitality and leisure deal value across 774 transactions in 2025.[27]
  • 52% of disclosed 2025 travel, leisure and hospitality deals were valued below $25 million.[27]

Strategic partnerships in the hotel and travel industry

  • 20,000 room nights were donated by Hilton in partnership with American Express for the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.[28]
  • 143 countries and territories contained Hilton hotels operating through management, franchise, lease or strategic partnership arrangements at December 31, 2025.[29]
  • 87% of Accor member room nights were direct bookings, according to the company’s strategic partnerships update.[30]
  • 3 times greater was the likelihood that Accor members booked a stay after an experience with a partner.[30]
  • 58.5% was the average Marriott Bonvoy loyalty-program contribution to occupancy at the referenced hotels in 2024.[31]
  • 9,300 hotels and resorts in 144 countries and territories participated in Marriott Bonvoy at December 31, 2024.[31]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce churn and recruiting difficulty remain central constraints, with 64.9% of surveyed U.S. hotels reporting staffing challenges in December 2024.

Hiring in the hotel and travel industry

  • 22% of Canadian tourism businesses reported unfilled positions in August 2024.[32]
  • 13.4% of surveyed U.S. hoteliers said they used hotel discounts to attract and retain employees in 2024.[33]
  • 77% of culinary and hospitality organizations reported difficulty recruiting for full-time positions in 2024.[34]
  • 64.9% of surveyed U.S. hotels reported staffing challenges in December 2024.[33]
  • United Airlines expected to hire nearly 10,000 workers in 2024.[35]

Employee retention in the hotel and travel industry

  • Approximately 32% of Hilton’s U.S. employees had worked at Hilton for at least 10 years as of December 2023.[29]
  • 29% of hospitality employers provided more growth or advancement opportunities to improve retention in 2025.[36]
  • 63.4% of hospitality employers said all or most of their 2025 turnover resulted from resignations.[36]
  • 55.2% of hospitality employers gave pay raises to improve retention in 2025.[36]
  • 26.2% of hospitality employers expanded professional-development opportunities to improve retention in 2025.[36]

Remote Work in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. hospitality and food services, employees worked 10.19% of paid days from home in 2026.[37]
  • Among travel buyers, 7% reported a full-time remote company policy for 2024, compared with 15% among travel suppliers and travel-management companies.[38]
  • Across U.S. hospitality and food services, employees worked 10.23% of paid days from home in 2024.[37]
  • Across U.S. hospitality and food services, employees worked 11.11% of paid days from home in 2025.[37]

Hybrid Work in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among business-travel professionals in Latin America, 58% reported that their company had a hybrid work policy for 2025.[39]
  • Among travel buyers, 68% reported a hybrid company work policy for 2024.[38]
  • Among business-travel professionals in the Asia-Pacific region, 62% reported that their company had a hybrid work policy for 2025.[39]
  • Among business-travel professionals in North America, 51% reported that their company had a hybrid work policy for 2025.[39]
  • Among travel suppliers and travel-management companies, 54% reported a hybrid company work policy for 2024.[38]

Upskilling in the hotel and travel industry

  • 21,201 Delta employees participated in the company’s employee-recognition program in 2024.[40]
  • 72.1% of surveyed U.S. hoteliers said career-advancement opportunities were better than ever or unchanged since the pandemic in 2024.[33]
  • 33% of hospitality HR leaders ranked interview scheduling as a leading area for AI improvement in hiring in 2026.[41]
  • 45% of hospitality employees said they wanted career-development and personal-growth training in a global 2025 study.[42]
  • 57% of hospitality workers in Scotland found it difficult to access funding for training and upskilling in 2024.[43]

Employee Engagement in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across Travel + Leisure Co.’s accommodation and hospitality workforce, the 2024 associate-engagement survey received 16,405 completions, representing 86% of associates.[44]
  • Across New Zealand hospitality businesses, 47% of employees reported work engagement in 2025.[45]
  • Across New Zealand hospitality and tourism workplaces, 62% of employees with people-management responsibilities reported work engagement in 2025.[45]
  • Across New Zealand tourism businesses, 60% of employees reported work engagement in 2025.[45]
  • Across IHG’s global hotel and corporate workforce, the 2024 employee-engagement score was 87%.[24]

DEI in the hotel and travel industry

  • 42% of Hilton’s global corporate leadership was women as of December 31, 2023.[29]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer experience in the hotel and travel industry

  • 81 points was the U.S. lodging score for in-room internet-service quality in 2026.[46]
  • 83 points was the U.S. lodging score for room cleanliness and comfort in 2026.[46]
  • 84 points was the U.S. lodging score for staff courtesy and helpfulness in 2026.[46]
  • 86 points was the U.S. lodging score for ease of making a reservation in 2026, on ACSI’s 0–100 scale.[46]
  • 80 points was the U.S. lodging call-center satisfaction score in 2026.[46]

Customer retention in the hotel and travel industry

  • 58% of EMEA hotels used confirmation or pre-arrival email upsells in 2023.[47]
  • 45% of North American hotels with 201–250 rooms used confirmation or pre-arrival email upsells in 2023.[47]
  • 42% of global hotels used confirmation or pre-arrival email upsells in 2023.[47]
  • 64 reviews per month was the average number received by a hotel in 2023, up from 56.[48]
  • 28% was the average increase in hotel guest-database size worldwide in 2023.[48]

Customer acquisition in the hotel and travel industry

  • 72% of surveyed Asian travelers used apps when booking travel in Expedia Group’s 2024 study.[49]
  • 73% of surveyed Asian travelers used apps to book hotels in Expedia Group’s 2024 study.[49]
  • 59% of travelers did not have a destination in mind when beginning trip planning, according to Expedia Group research.[50]
  • 1.1 billion room nights were booked through Booking Holdings in 2024.[51]
  • 17% was Booking Holdings’ year-over-year gross-bookings growth in the fourth quarter of 2024.[51]

Customer loyalty in the hotel and travel industry

  • 210 million was Marriott Bonvoy’s membership base reported in July 2024.[52]
  • 168 million members were in Expedia Group’s combined travel rewards programs when One Key was announced.[53]
  • 73% of travel-rewards members were interested in price discounts from loyalty programs.[49]
  • $238 was the average daily spend per Marriott Bonvoy member paid room night at included hotels in 2024.[31]
  • 65.6% was the average Marriott Bonvoy loyalty-program contribution to occupancy at included hotels in 2024.[31]

Lead generation in the hotel and travel industry

  • 18.1% was the average click-through rate for warm hotel lead-nurture campaigns in North America.[47]
  • 7.0% was the average click-through rate for cold hotel lead-nurture campaigns in North America.[47]
  • 7.9% was the average conversion rate for warm hotel lead-nurture campaigns in North America.[47]
  • 5 room nights was the average booking size for cold hotel lead-nurture campaigns in North America.[47]
  • 5.1 inbound lead calls per room was the average hotel volume in 2023.[48]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Advertising and media budgets remain large, with the average hotelier annual per-property spend on digital advertising and media at $74,337 in 2024.

Marketing in the hotel and travel industry

  • $74,337 was the average hotelier’s annual per-property spend on digital advertising and media in 2024.[13]
  • $781 million was Expedia Group’s indirect selling-and-marketing expense in 2024.[53]
  • $46,251 was the average annual digital-advertising spend for single-property hoteliers in 2024.[13]
  • 21% of hoteliers spent more than $100,000 annually on digital advertising in 2024.[13]
  • 34% of hoteliers spent between $50,001 and $100,000 annually on digital advertising in 2024.[13]

Digital marketing in the hotel and travel industry

  • $1.939 billion was Booking Holdings’ marketing expense in the second quarter of 2024.[54]
  • $3.549 billion was Booking Holdings’ marketing expense in the first half of 2024.[54]
  • $1.548 billion was Expedia Group’s direct selling-and-marketing expense in the fourth quarter of 2024.[53]
  • 194% was the year-over-year increase in AI-referred traffic to U.S. travel websites reported for 2025.[55]
  • 16% was the 2024 increase in Expedia Group’s advertising-and-media revenue.[54]

Branding in the hotel and travel industry

  • 24 brands were in Hilton’s portfolio at December 31, 2024.[28]
  • 92.2 out of 100 was Taj’s Brand Strength Index score in 2025, the highest among hotel brands.[56]
  • 3,578 properties were in Hilton’s development pipeline at December 31, 2024.[28]
  • $58.8 billion was the combined value of the world’s 50 leading hotel brands in 2025.[56]
  • $6.0 billion was Hyatt’s global hotel-brand value in 2024.[56]

Social media in the hotel and travel industry

  • 45% of active leisure travelers with children in their household followed a travel-service provider on social media in Q4 2024.[57]
  • 55% of social-media followers valued special offers and promotions from travel-service brands in Q4 2024.[57]
  • 51% of social-media followers valued professionally photographed hotel, resort or activity images in Q4 2024.[57]
  • 42% of social-media followers valued insider information from travel-service providers in Q4 2024.[57]
  • 48% of social-media followers valued authentic images posted by other travelers in Q4 2024.[57]

Influencer Marketing in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • 72% of European travel and hospitality brands plan to expand their creator pool, according to research conducted across seven European markets in 2025.[58]
  • 91% of hospitality brands include some form of influencer marketing in their brand strategy, based on a 2026 hospitality-sector survey.[59]
  • 92% of destination marketing organizations and tourism boards globally increased or maintained influencer-marketing budgets in 2026.[60]
  • 92% of European travel and hospitality brands work with micro-creators, defined as influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers, in research conducted across seven markets in 2025.[58]
  • 49% of hospitality brands include paid influencer work in their brand strategy, up from 37% in the previous survey period.[59]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operators face measurable operational issues and automation expectations, including 30% of hotel guests using Mews kiosks in properties offering them in 2025.

Process optimization in the hotel and travel industry

  • 32% of surveyed hoteliers said measuring technology return on investment was easy in 2024.[5]
  • 25% of surveyed hotel organizations said they were ready to adopt artificial intelligence in 2026.[61]
  • 30% of surveyed air-transport organizations were using artificial intelligence for flight operations in 2024.[62]
  • 40% of surveyed hotel organizations said they were not ready to adopt artificial intelligence in 2026.[61]
  • 36% of surveyed air-transport organizations were using artificial intelligence for aircraft turnaround in 2024.[62]

Operational efficiency in the hotel and travel industry

  • 7.3 million flights were delayed by air-navigation-service-provider underperformance in Europe between 2015 and 2025.[63]
  • 65.5% was the global airline break-even cargo load factor in 2025, according to IATA's annual review.[64]
  • 84% of surveyed hotel executives said artificial intelligence improved their own work in 2026.[33]
  • 5.84% was the hotel employee turnover rate in June 2025, based on HotelData.com analysis of Actabl data.[33]
  • 6.07% was the hotel employee turnover rate in June 2024, based on HotelData.com analysis of Actabl data.[33]

Quality management in the hotel and travel industry

  • 84 was the 2024 U.S. lodging satisfaction score for ease of check-in and checkout on the ACSI 0-to-100 scale.[46]
  • 60% of surveyed consumers ranked guest-room cleanliness among the top three factors in a positive hotel experience in 2024.[65]
  • 12% of evaluated hotel stays involved a guest-reported problem such as an odor, housekeeping issue, excessive noise or check-in dispute in the 2025 North America study.[66]
  • 31% of surveyed consumers ranked well-maintained hotel amenities among the top three factors in a positive hotel experience in 2024.[65]
  • 78 was the 2024 U.S. lodging satisfaction score for quality of hotel amenities on the ACSI 0-to-100 scale.[46]

Supply chain in the hotel and travel industry

  • 50% of surveyed U.S. hotel owners identified utility and energy costs as a financial pressure in 2026.[33]
  • Less than 1% of surveyed U.S. hotels used returnable or reusable packaging to reduce supply-chain waste in 2024.[67]
  • 43% of surveyed U.S. hotel owners identified insurance premiums as a financial pressure in 2026.[33]
  • 15.2% of surveyed luxury hotels collaborated with suppliers on sustainable product design in 2024.[67]
  • 111% was the increase in U.S. hotel insurance costs between 2019 and 2025, according to AHLA's 2026 industry report.[33]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • Around three in 10 travel buyers worldwide engaged external consultants for travel-supplier sourcing in 2025.[11]
  • 14% of travel supplier and TMC professionals whose companies were not adding staff expected to outsource more work to third parties in 2025.[38]
  • 64% of European corporate travel managers outsourced at least part of their hotel RFP process in 2026.[38]
  • 54% of organizations across North America and EMEA outsourced some or all hotel RFP activities to travel management companies or consultants in 2026.[38]
  • 9% of North American travel buyers and 13% of European travel buyers whose programs were not adding staff expected to outsource more work to third parties in 2025.[38]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Room pricing stays a primary lever: worldwide comparable RevPAR increased 2.0% in 2025, driven by a 2.1% increase in average daily rate.

Pricing strategy in the hotel and travel industry

  • $174.40 was global corporate-travel hotel average daily rate year-to-date in 2025.[68]
  • $102.78 is the forecast U.S. hotel revenue per available room for 2025, 2.58% above 2024.[33]
  • $100.19 was U.S. hotel revenue per available room in 2024, a 2.04% increase from 2023.[33]
  • 3.8% of European hotel properties showed high price volatility in a 2026 empirical study.[69]
  • 15% of European hotel properties showed high-complexity price variation in a 2026 empirical study.[69]

Cost reduction in the hotel and travel industry

  • 4.5% was the 2024 increase in U.S. hotel food-and-beverage labor expenses in the analyzed sample.[70]
  • 9.4% was the 2024 increase in U.S. hotel food-and-beverage operating-supply costs in the analyzed sample.[70]
  • $72.44 was U.S. hotel labor cost per available room in 2024, up 11.2% from 2023.[70]
  • 4% was the 2024 increase in average hourly compensation for U.S. hospitality employees, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by CoStar.[70]
  • 26.0% of global airline operating expenses were labor costs in 2025, making labor the largest cost category.[64]

Profitability in the hotel and travel industry

  • $76.4 billion was global airline EBIT in 2025, a record level according to IATA.[64]
  • $209.67 was U.S. hotel total revenue per available room in 2024, up 7.2% from 2023.[70]
  • $45 billion was estimated global airline net profit in 2025, compared with $38 billion in 2024.[64]
  • 35.1% was the 2024 gross operating profit margin for U.S. hotels, down from 36.5% in 2023.[71]
  • $73.60 was U.S. hotel gross operating profit per available room in 2024, up 3.2% from 2023.[70]

Financial planning in the hotel and travel industry

  • $165 billion was the forecast global airline ancillary revenue for 2026, up 12.6% year over year.[64]
  • 51.5% of surveyed corporate travel policies included fixed trip budgets in June 2026.[72]
  • 74% of surveyed U.S. travel managers planned to expand company travel budgets in 2025.[73]
  • Nearly $87 billion was the projected U.S. hotel tax generation for 2026, up from $85.1 billion in 2025.[33]
  • 2.1% was the forecast 2026 growth rate for global passenger traffic in IATA’s June outlook.[64]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Conversions and digital tools shape the supply mix: 52% of IHG room openings in 2025 came from conversions, not new-build development.

Product development in the hotel and travel industry

  • 52% of IHG’s room openings in 2025 came from conversions rather than new-build development.[24]
  • 66.67% of analyzed hotel chains implemented management or organizational improvements in central services during the three years covered by the 2024 benchmark.[74]
  • 100% of analyzed hotel chains improved hotel operations through digital tools during the three years covered by the 2024 benchmark.[74]
  • 38.89% of analyzed hotel chains launched a new business model during the five years covered by the 2024 benchmark.[74]
  • 23.5% of full-service-carrier revenue came from ancillary services on average in the 2024 Amadeus airline technology survey.[75]

Product lifecycle in the hotel and travel industry

  • 689 U.S. hotels representing approximately 84,100 rooms were under construction on average from 2009 through 2014.[76]
  • 1,186 U.S. hotels representing approximately 138,000 rooms were under construction in the 2026 AHLA report.[76]
  • 19.1% of U.S. hotel pipeline rooms were under construction in the 2026 AHLA report, compared with 28.1% on average from 2001 through 2024.[76]
  • London’s hotel rooms under construction represented less than 4% of existing hotel stock in JLL’s 2026 global market comparison.[21]
  • Bengaluru’s hotel rooms under construction exceeded 12% of existing hotel stock in JLL’s 2026 global market comparison.[21]

After-sales in the hotel and travel industry

  • 37% of U.S. business lodging guests reported a complaint in the 2026 ACSI Travel Study, compared with 36% in 2025.[46]
  • 14.8% of dining customers experienced a service disruption in 2024, the lowest sector figure reported in the Adobe travel and hospitality study.[6]
  • 72 was the 2026 ACSI satisfaction score for business lodging guests who complained.[46]
  • 15% of U.S. leisure lodging guests reported a complaint in the 2026 ACSI Travel Study, compared with 14% in 2025.[46]
  • Half of consumers either reduced spending or stopped spending after a bad experience in hotel-focused 2024 consumer trend data.[5]

Value proposition in the hotel and travel industry

  • 9 was the average number of trips taken annually by North American hotel guests in J.D. Power’s 2024 study, down from 10 in 2023.[66]
  • 66% of business travelers were willing to share personal information in exchange for a more personalized hotel offer in the Amadeus Travel Dreams research.[77]
  • 50% of consumers said travel was more important to them in 2025 than five years earlier, according to Expedia’s hotel Traveler Value Index.[49]
  • 3.43 days was the average hotel stay length for North American guests in J.D. Power’s 2024 study, up from 3.36 days in 2023.[66]
  • 18% of consumers identified positive reviews as a top hotel-booking value in Expedia’s 2025 hotel Traveler Value Index.[49]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability implementation is measurable in facilities, with 83.5% of U.S. hotels having a waste-reduction plan in 2024.

Sustainability in the hotel and travel industry

  • 83.5% of U.S. hotels had a waste-reduction plan in 2024.[67]
  • 19% of Travel & Tourism’s greenhouse-gas emissions came from utilities in 2024.[20]
  • 7.3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions came from Travel & Tourism in 2024.[20]
  • 15.7% of direct Travel & Tourism employment was held by workers aged 15–24 globally in 2024.[20]
  • 63.9% of U.S. hotels diverted at least 76% of their food waste in 2024.[67]

ESG in the hotel and travel industry

  • 970,000-plus learning and career-growth opportunities were provided by Hilton in 2024.[78]
  • $7.3 million-plus was donated through the Hilton Global Foundation in 2024.[78]
  • 89 new Hilton suppliers were screened using social criteria in 2024.[78]
  • 452,236 volunteer hours were recorded by Hilton team members in 2024.[78]
  • 2,500 local and small businesses were supported by Hilton in 2024.[78]

Ethics in the hotel and travel industry

  • $1.4 million-plus was distributed by Hilton to team members affected by disasters, crisis or hardship in 2024.[78]
  • 50% was the increase in Hilton Travel with Purpose Week volunteer activities from 2023 to 2024.[78]
  • 1,200-plus community events were held during Hilton’s 2024 Travel with Purpose Week.[78]
  • 87% of Hilton franchised hotels completed anti-trafficking training in 2024.[78]
  • 89 suppliers underwent Hilton social-criteria screening through EcoVadis in 2024.[78]

CSR in the hotel and travel industry

  • 2,500-plus hot meals were served to families recovering from Hurricane Helene through Hilton-supported relief efforts in 2024.[78]
  • 50% was the increase in Hilton Travel with Purpose Week volunteer activities in 2024 compared with 2023.[78]
  • 6,200-plus pounds of litter were collected by Hilton volunteers in U.S. communities in 2024.[78]
  • 121 nonprofit action grants were awarded by Hilton in 2024.[78]
  • 1.5 million-plus community members were meaningfully impacted through Hilton programs in 2024.[78]

Circular economy in the hotel and travel industry

  • 1.3 million tonnes of packaging waste were generated annually by the UK hospitality sector, according to 2024 estimates.[79]
  • 62% of UK hospitality packaging waste was recycled in 2024 estimates.[79]
  • 46% of UK hospitality-sector solid waste was recycled, anaerobically digested or composted in 2024 estimates.[79]
  • 10–15 years was the estimated service life of hotel and restaurant catering equipment in a 2024 UK assessment.[79]
  • 920,000 tonnes of food waste were generated annually by the UK hospitality sector, according to 2024 estimates.[79]

Carbon footprint in the hotel and travel industry

  • 8.3% was Travel & Tourism’s share of global greenhouse-gas emissions in 2019.[20]
  • 7% of surveyed Millennials paid to offset flight carbon emissions in 2024.[80]
  • 103-plus tons of plastic were avoided through Hilton Digital Key in 2024.[78]
  • 1 percentage point was the improvement in Travel & Tourism’s low-carbon energy share between 2019 and 2024.[20]
  • 7.3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions were linked to Travel & Tourism in 2024 across 184 economies.[81]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Global distribution scale continues to expand, with Booking Holdings listing more than 33 million accommodation listings across more than 220 countries and territories in 2025.

Globalization in the hotel and travel industry

  • Booking Holdings listed more than 33 million accommodation listings across more than 220 countries and territories in 2025.[92]
  • Hilton operated 1,024 hotels with 198,100 rooms in Asia Pacific at December 31, 2024.[29]
  • $1,182 was the worldwide average international tourism export revenue per arrival in 2024.[93]
  • $445 was the average international tourism export revenue per arrival in landlocked developing countries in 2024.[93]
  • 8,447 Hilton properties comprising 1,268,206 rooms operated in 140 countries and territories at December 31, 2024.[94]

Cultural adaptation in the hotel and travel industry

  • 40+ languages were supported across Booking Holdings’ global operations in 2025.[92]
  • 24 brands were represented in Hilton’s portfolio in 2024, spanning luxury, lifestyle, full-service, focused-service and all-suites lodging.[78]
  • 140+ nationalities were represented in Booking Holdings’ workforce in 2025.[92]
  • 12 Hilton brands were represented across Asia Pacific in 2024.[28]
  • 18 of Hilton’s 24 brands were represented in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2024.[28]

Supplier management in the hotel and travel industry

  • 37.2% of Silks Hotel Group’s suppliers demonstrated clear sustainability-management baselines in 2025.[95]
  • 71% of U.S. hoteliers identified the cost of goods and supplies as a top financial challenge in an AHLA survey conducted in February 2026.[96]
  • 24.3% of Silks Hotel Group’s suppliers had regular feedback or optimization systems in 2025.[95]
  • 30% of suppliers in EcoVadis and Accenture’s 2026 procurement study provided no carbon data to customers.[97]
  • 26% of suppliers in EcoVadis and Accenture’s 2026 procurement study provided aggregated Scope 1 and 2 data with limited or no Scope 3 data.[97]

Stakeholder management in the hotel and travel industry

  • 224 million guests were served by Hilton in 2024.[78]
  • 8.4K+ Hilton properties, including hotels, timeshares and strategic partner hotels, were covered by Hilton’s 2024 community and responsible-business reporting.[78]
  • More than 60,000 Booking Holdings partners engaged with sustainability guidance offerings in 2025.[92]
  • 1.5 million pounds of food were donated through Hilton’s support for disaster-affected communities in 2024.[78]
  • More than 100 million as-booked room nights occurred at certified accommodation partners on Booking Holdings platforms in 2025.[92]

Distribution channels in the hotel and travel industry

  • 33.8% of European accommodation overnight stays were booked directly online in the 2024 HOTREC distribution study.[98]
  • $110.921 billion in gross bookings were generated through Expedia Group in full-year 2024.[53]
  • 1.0% of European accommodation overnight stays came through destination marketing in the 2024 HOTREC distribution study.[98]
  • 383.9 million room nights were booked through Expedia Group in full-year 2024.[53]
  • 80% of European accommodation businesses agreed that they had multiple options to market rooms to consumers in 2024.[98]

Key questions about the hotel and travel industry

What is the current global size of travel and tourism for hotel and travel demand?
Travel and tourism contributed $11.6 trillion to global GDP in 2025, representing 9.8% of the world economy.
How fast is travel and tourism expected to grow through 2035?
WTTC forecasts travel and tourism's economic contribution will reach $16.5 trillion by 2035, implying an approximate 3.6% compound annual growth rate over 2025–2035.
Which companies lead the hotel and travel industry?
Royal Caribbean Group leads Gitnux's 2026 hotel and travel ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with 2025 revenue of $17.9 billion and ~108,000 employees, as reported. Hilton is the highest-ranked hotel brand operator at 9.2, driven by 2025 growth adding nearly 100,000 rooms and reaching 9,000 hotels.
How is the hotel market structured between brands and alternative accommodation?
International arrivals reached 1.52B in 2025, and alternative accommodation represented approximately 37% of Booking.com room nights in Q2 2026.
Which performance metric is most used to measure hotel results?
Among hotel revenue-management respondents, 77.4% preferred RevPAR for measuring performance.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Hotel And Travel Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/hotel-and-travel-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Hotel And Travel Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/hotel-and-travel-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Hotel And Travel Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/hotel-and-travel-industry-statistics.

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