Gitnux/Report 2026

Leisure and Hospitality Industry Statistics

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

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The leisure and hospitality industry at a glance

U.S. leisure and hospitality employment reached 16.97 million jobs in September 2026, while global hospitality demand continued expanding and major events supported the sector’s outlook.

16.97M[28]
U.S. jobs, September 2026
$5.52T[91]
Global hospitality market, 2025
$805B[56]
U.S. hotel guest spending, 2026
$49.2B[27]
Hospitality and leisure M&A, 2025
Market size
The global hospitality market reached $5.52 trillion in 2025, according to The Business Research Company. In the United States, hotels generated $85.1 billion in local, state, and federal taxes during 2025, illustrating the sector’s substantial economic footprint.[91][56]
Forecast & CAGR
The global hospitality market is forecast to reach $7.48 trillion by 2030, representing a 6.4% compound annual growth rate from 2025. U.S. hotel guest spending is expected to approach $805 billion in 2026, up 1.7% from 2025.[91][56]
Market share & regions
Asia-Pacific was the largest regional hospitality market in 2025, while North America was identified as the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. Marriott’s 2024 portfolio illustrates the industry’s international spread: 6,235 properties were in the United States and Canada, compared with 1,295 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 1,218 across Asia-Pacific and Greater China.[91][92]
Segmentation
The industry spans accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation, travel intermediation, and related visitor services. Within U.S. leisure and hospitality employment in September 2026, arts, entertainment and recreation accounted for about 2.66 million jobs, with the remainder concentrated in accommodation and food services.[28]
Key players & concentration
Large global hotel groups continue to expand mainly through franchising, management contracts and brand portfolios rather than direct property ownership. Marriott reported 9,361 properties and 1.71 million rooms in 2024, with 7,192 properties franchised, licensed or otherwise operated through asset-light arrangements.[92]
Pricing
U.S. hotel occupancy was projected at 63.38% for 2025, still below the 65.80% recorded in 2019. Pricing transparency became a regulatory requirement on May 12, 2025, when the Federal Trade Commission’s rule required mandatory lodging fees to be included in displayed total prices.[56][93]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand is being supported by leisure travel, major events and technology adoption, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and America250. At the same time, hotel operators reported cost pressures from goods and supplies, labor, demand volatility, utilities and insurance; AHLA said 71% cited goods and supplies as a financial pressure and 65% cited labor costs.[56]
Consumer behavior & competition
Domestic leisure travel remains the largest component of U.S. travel activity, while international inbound travel remains below pre-pandemic levels. Competition is increasingly centered on loyalty programs, lifestyle and luxury brands, personalized experiences and operational technology; in an AHLA survey, 90% of respondents said AI helped routine work get done faster in the first half of 2026.[56]
M&A
Hospitality and leisure recorded 774 M&A deals worth $49.2 billion in 2025, with transaction value up 78.5% from 2024. Notable activity included Hyatt’s approximately $2.6 billion acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts and Ryman Hospitality Properties’ planned $1.38 billion purchase of the Grande Lakes resort complex in Orlando in 2026.[27][94][22]
Regulation
The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees took effect on May 12, 2025 and covers short-term lodging, including hotels, vacation rentals and home-share listings. Covered businesses must disclose mandatory fees in the total price before requesting payment and must not misrepresent the purpose or amount of charges.[93]
Latest news
The latest industry outlook points to modest improvement in U.S. hotel demand during 2026, with guest spending expected to reach nearly $805 billion and direct hotel operations employment projected to rise by more than 30,000 jobs to approximately 2.2 million. AHLA also reported that AI adoption was improving routine productivity, although frontline applications remained limited.[56]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Leisure And Hospitality Industry

The leading companies in the leisure and hospitality 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 leisure and hospitality ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with 108,000 employees in 2025. Hilton is the highest-ranked hotel group at 9.4, with 9,158 properties and 1.35 million rooms in 143 countries.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in cruise operations

    Royal Caribbean Group

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Cruise operations

    Why we picked it: It runs global cruise brands, with scale reflected in 108,000 employees in 2025.

    See in ranking ↓Visit royalcaribbeangroup.com ↗

  2. Leader in hotel franchising

    Hilton

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.4 · Hotel franchising

    Why we picked it: It operates a broad asset-light hotel footprint, shown by 9,158 properties and 1.35 million rooms.

    See in ranking ↓Visit hilton.com ↗

  3. Leader in theme parks

    Disney

    US

    Ranked #5 · 8.8 · Theme parks

    Why we picked it: It generates leisure demand through Parks & Experiences, reaching $36.2B revenue in fiscal 2025.

    See in ranking ↓Visit disney.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 leisure and hospitality industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Royal Caribbean Group

Cruise operations · US

9.5
2

Hilton

Hotel franchising · US

9.4
3

Carnival Corporation

Cruise operations · US

8.9
4

InterContinental Hotels Group

Hotel franchising · GB

8.9
5

Disney

Theme parks · US

8.8
6

McDonald's

Global quick-service restaurants · US

8.7
7

Starbucks

Global coffeehouses and foodservice · US

8.2
8

Hyatt Hotels

Global hotels, resorts and all-inclusive hospitality · US

8.0
9

MGM Resorts International

Hotels, casinos, resorts and entertainment · US

7.9
10

Choice Hotels

Hotel franchising and extended-stay lodging · US

7.7

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 leisure and hospitality industry. In Leisure And Hospitality Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/leisure-and-hospitality-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest leisure and hospitality companies

Starbucks leads with $37.2B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

Starbucks$37.2B
McDonald's$26.9B
Carnival Corporation$26.6B
MGM Resorts International$17.5B
Hilton$12.0B
InterContinental Hotels Group$5.2B
source-verifiedinvestor.starbucks.com · sec.gov · investors.mgmresorts.com · ir.hilton.com · ihgplc.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI and automation are moving into day-to-day operations. For example, 70% of hotel chains worldwide viewed AI agents as the next major innovation wave in 2026.

AI in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 70% of hotel chains worldwide viewed AI agents as the next major innovation wave in 2026.[1]
  • 38% of U.S. restaurant operators using AI reported higher guest-satisfaction ratings in early 2025.[2]
  • 48% of U.S. restaurant operators using AI reported faster responses to guest inquiries in early 2025.[2]
  • 35% of restaurant brands and 25% of restaurant operators reported high current AI impact on inventory management in a global 2024 survey.[3]
  • 39% of U.S. restaurant operators using AI reported reduced operating costs in early 2025.[2]
  • 47% of U.S. restaurant operators using AI reported quicker decision-making in early 2025.[2]

Automation in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 72% of U.S. restaurant operators had automated online ordering in 2024.[4]
  • 65% of U.S. restaurant operators had automated inventory management in 2024.[4]
  • 17% of tasks were automated across surveyed quick-service and full-service restaurants in 2022.[5]
  • 67% of U.S. restaurant operators had automated email marketing in 2024.[4]
  • 29% of restaurant operators reported active AI or automation adoption for operations in 2026.[6]
  • 66% of U.S. restaurant operators had automated sending orders to the kitchen in 2024.[4]

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

  • 69% of lodging-technology survey respondents identified integrating new technology with legacy systems as a moderate or major 2024 industry challenge.[7]
  • 59% of active travel and hospitality respondents were at the piloting or deploying stage of AI adoption in Adobe’s global research.[8]
  • 80% of travel and hospitality respondents reported siloed, transactional, or consultative relationships between business and information-technology teams.[8]
  • 47% of hotels in Andalusia rated their infrastructure capacity for digital transformation as high or very high in the study period.[9]

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

  • 49% of global travel programs planned to increase technology investment for 2025, based on a GBTA poll of travel-industry professionals.[10]
  • 14% of travel buyers said they were already using AI in their travel programs in the October 2024 GBTA poll.[10]
  • 89% of travel and hospitality executives expected generative AI to have a meaningful business impact within three years.[11]
  • 83% of travel and hospitality executives said they increased AI budgets in 2024, according to the Skift-AWS industry survey.[11]

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.[11]
  • 67% of travel and hospitality companies were in advanced stages of cloud adoption in the 2024 Skift-AWS industry survey.[11]
  • 79% of travel and tourism companies surveyed by the World Economic Forum reported cloud computing among technologies expected to be adopted.[12]
  • 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.[13]
  • 69% of hospitality respondents used a hybrid-cloud deployment model globally in 2023, compared with 31% using public cloud only.[13]

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

  • More than eight in ten worldwide travel buyers considered data analytics extremely or very important to their travel programs in April 2025.[14]
  • 18.8% of hotels in an Andalusian study rated their implementation of big-data tools as high or very high.[9]
  • 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.[12]
  • 62.8% of hotels in an Andalusian study rated their implementation of big-data tools as low or very low.[9]

IoT in the travel and hospitality sector (sector benchmark)

  • 65% of travel executives reported a significant increase in deployed IoT or edge devices over the previous three years globally in 2022.[15]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data integration and governance remain gating factors as teams rely on dashboards and more reporting-heavy workflows. Only 11% of hotel owners and operators reported a fully integrated technology stack in 2026.

Business intelligence in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 36% of hotel marketing teams used business-intelligence data tools regularly in 2024.[16]
  • 34% of hotel professionals wanted more corporate and group travel insights for business intelligence in 2024.[16]
  • 30% of hotel professionals wanted more information about guests’ nationality and country of origin for business intelligence in 2024.[16]
  • 23% of hotel distribution teams used business intelligence regularly in 2024, according to a global hospitality technology survey.[16]
  • 12% of hotels used website analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics in 2025.[17]
  • 31% of executives in hotel groups or management companies referred to business intelligence regularly in 2024.[16]

Data analytics in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 34% of U.S. restaurant operators planned investment in integrated accounting and reporting software for 2024.[7]
  • 41% of U.S. restaurant operators planned to invest in artificial-intelligence tools in 2024, supporting analytics-led operations.[7]
  • 4% of hospitality enterprises adopted big-data analytics in the OECD’s latest comparable industry data, covering 2023 or the most recent available year.[18]
  • 67% of hospitality organizations used performance-tracking dashboards in a 2026 hospitality HR-analytics study.[19]
  • 33% of U.S. restaurant operators identified data analytics as an investment priority for 2024.[2]
  • 23% of hospitality organizations used prescriptive analytics in a 2026 hospitality HR-analytics study.[19]

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

  • 47% of business leaders were fully confident in their organizations’ data accuracy in 2025, across the broader business sample reported by Salesforce.[20]
  • 69% of travel and hospitality companies training AI models wasted resources on bad data in 2025, according to a Salesforce survey of business leaders.[20]
  • 27% of hotel operators spent more than 11 hours per week consolidating or reconciling data in 2026.[10]
  • 27% of hotel operators used more than seven technology platforms in 2026, increasing the risk of fragmented and inconsistent operational data.[10]
  • 15% of hotel owners and operators were very confident in the accuracy and timeliness of their operational data in 2026.[10]

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

  • 51% of hoteliers said regulation helped their commercial goals in 2025, while 20% said it hindered them, in a survey covering hotel distribution professionals.[17]
  • 91% of hotel owners and operators still relied on some manual reporting within automated workflows in 2026, highlighting incomplete process standardization.[10]
  • 78% of travel and hospitality business leaders said data-governance policies varied across departments in 2025.[20]
  • 97% of travel and hospitality business leaders said a strong data foundation was the most critical factor for AI deployment in 2025.[20]
  • Only 11% of hotel owners and operators reported a fully integrated technology stack in 2026, indicating limited enterprise-wide data integration.[10]

KPIs in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 2.1% was IHG’s global average daily rate growth in 2024.[21]
  • 81% was IHG’s enterprise contribution to revenue in 2024, measuring bookings through managed channels and sources.[21]
  • 987,000 rooms were in IHG’s hotel system across 6,629 hotels at the end of 2024.[21]
  • 3.0% was IHG’s global comparable RevPAR growth in 2024.[21]
  • 0.6 percentage points was IHG’s global occupancy increase in 2024.[21]
  • $33.4 billion was total gross revenue from hotels in IHG’s system in 2024.[21]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Brand-led expansion continues through development pipelines and partnerships. Hilton’s development pipeline totaled 498,600 rooms across 3,578 hotels at the end of 2024.

Growth in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 1,200 development deals covering nearly 162,000 rooms were signed by Marriott International globally in 2024.[22]
  • 55% of Marriott International’s development-pipeline rooms were outside the United States and Canada at the end of 2024.[22]
  • 498,600 rooms across 3,578 hotels were in Hilton’s development pipeline at the end of 2024.[22]
  • 40% of Marriott International’s development-pipeline rooms were under construction or converting at the end of 2024.[22]
  • 6.8% was Marriott International’s net room growth worldwide in 2024, reaching more than 1.7 million rooms.[22]
  • 98,400 rooms were opened by Hilton worldwide in 2024.[22]

Differentiation in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 33% of luxury and upscale hotel guests rated their stay 9 or 10 out of 10 for personalization in 2023.[23]
  • 16% of midscale and budget hotel guests rated their stay 9 or 10 out of 10 for personalization in 2023.[23]
  • 34% of hotels and restaurants identified inability to use personalization data in real time as their greatest challenge in 2023.[24]
  • 61% of consumers said they were willing to spend more with companies offering personalized experiences in 2024.[25]
  • 33% of hotel guests with previous history at a brand rated their stay 9 or 10 out of 10 for personalization in 2023.[23]
  • 48% of hospitality consumers said human interactions were the most critical factor in their experience in 2026.[26]

Mergers and acquisitions in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 26.1% was the increase in private-equity deal volume in the global travel and tourism sector in 2024.[10]
  • 0.4% was the increase in global travel and tourism M&A deal volume in 2024.[10]
  • $6.3 billion was the value of Apollo Funds’ announced acquisition of IGT’s gaming and digital business with Everi Holdings in 2024.[27]
  • 875 travel, leisure and hospitality deals worth $28.2 billion were recorded globally in 2024.[27]
  • 747 travel and tourism deals were announced globally in 2023.[10]
  • $31.1 billion was the value of strategic travel, leisure and hospitality deals in the first half of 2026, up 187.0% year over year.[27]

Strategic partnerships in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 108 open NOVUM Hospitality hotels representing 15,300 rooms were expected to join IHG’s system between 2024 and 2028.[22]
  • 411 Hilton hotels and approximately 19,500 rooms opened in 2024 through strategic partner hotels.[22]
  • 11 NOVUM Hospitality hotels representing 2,400 rooms were under development for IHG between 2024 and 2028.[22]
  • 38,000 rooms were added to Marriott International’s system through its strategic licensing agreement with MGM Resorts International in 2024.[22]
  • 409 Hilton hotels and approximately 19,400 rooms were added net in 2024 through strategic partner hotels.[22]
  • 9,000 rooms were added to Marriott International’s system through its long-term agreement with Sonder Holdings in 2024.[22]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Labor demand stays elevated while training and turnover pressures persist. U.S. leisure and hospitality recorded 1.013 million hires in September 2026.

Hiring in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 5.4% was the U.S. arts, entertainment, and recreation hires rate in December 2025.[28]
  • 1.013 million hires were recorded in U.S. leisure and hospitality in September 2026.[28]
  • 959,000 hires were recorded in U.S. leisure and hospitality in December 2025.[28]
  • 815,000 hires were recorded in U.S. accommodation and food services in December 2025.[28]
  • 6.5% was the U.S. leisure and hospitality annual average hires rate in 2023.[28]

Employee retention in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 5.5% was the U.S. leisure and hospitality annual average quits rate in 2021.[28]
  • 5.4% was the U.S. leisure and hospitality annual average quits rate in 2022.[28]
  • 5.8% was the U.S. accommodation and food services annual average quits rate in 2022.[28]
  • 4.1% was the U.S. accommodation and food services annual average quits rate in 2024.[28]
  • 38.7% was the hospitality and catering staff turnover rate in 2024, based on data from more than 4,000 accounts.[29]

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

  • Among travel buyers, 7% reported a full-time remote company policy for 2024, compared with 15% among travel suppliers and travel-management companies.[30]
  • Across U.S. hospitality and food services, employees worked 11.11% of paid days from home in 2025.[31]
  • Across U.S. hospitality and food services, employees worked 10.19% of paid days from home in 2026.[31]
  • Across U.S. hospitality and food services, employees worked 10.23% of paid days from home in 2024.[31]

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

  • Among travel buyers, 68% reported a hybrid company work policy for 2024.[30]
  • Among business-travel professionals in Europe, 77% reported that their company had a hybrid work policy for 2025.[32]
  • Among business-travel professionals in Latin America, 58% reported that their company had a hybrid work policy for 2025.[32]
  • Among business-travel professionals in the Asia-Pacific region, 62% reported that their company had a hybrid work policy for 2025.[32]
  • Among business-travel professionals in North America, 51% reported that their company had a hybrid work policy for 2025.[32]

Upskilling in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 126 people participated on average in no-cost workforce training per Boston hotel in 2024.[33]
  • 5% of Scottish hospitality workers did not know whether they had received enough training to do their job well in 2024.[34]
  • 52% of Scottish hotel and restaurant establishments provided internal workforce training in 2022.[34]
  • 50% of hospitality workers identified learning and development as their top retention driver in a 2026 frontline workforce survey.[35]
  • 33% of Boston hotels held more than 100 hours of no-cost workforce training in 2024.[33]

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

  • Across New Zealand tourism businesses, 60% of employees reported work engagement in 2025.[36]
  • Across New Zealand hospitality and tourism workplaces, 67% of employees in very small organizations reported work engagement in 2025.[36]
  • Across IHG’s global hotel and corporate workforce, the 2024 employee-engagement score was 87%.[21]
  • Across Travel + Leisure Co.’s accommodation and hospitality workforce, the 2024 associate-engagement survey received 16,405 completions, representing 86% of associates.[37]
  • Across New Zealand hospitality and tourism workplaces, 62% of employees with people-management responsibilities reported work engagement in 2025.[36]

DEI in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 28.4% of independent hotel-company board seats were held by women in 2025.[38]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Loyalty and direct-channel mechanics shape revenue contribution. Average hotel-occupancy contribution from loyalty-program members was 52.8% in 2024.

Customer experience in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 84 points was the 2026 U.S. lodging score for staff courtesy and helpfulness on ACSI’s 0–100 scale.[39]
  • 80 points was the 2026 U.S. lodging score for call-center satisfaction on ACSI’s 0–100 scale.[39]
  • 85 points was the 2026 U.S. lodging score for mobile-app reliability on ACSI’s 0–100 scale.[39]
  • 83 points was the 2026 U.S. lodging score for room cleanliness and comfort on ACSI’s 0–100 scale.[39]
  • 86 points was the 2026 U.S. lodging score for mobile-app quality on ACSI’s 0–100 scale.[39]

Customer retention in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 21 hotel-loyalty program launches and partnerships in 2024 attracted new guests and use cases, according to CBRE.[40]
  • 209% was the potential increase in overall restaurant revenue from one additional monthly visit by each uncommitted customer, according to Upside’s model.[41]
  • 70% of U.S. restaurant revenue came from uncommitted customers who routinely visit different brands or channels, according to Upside’s analysis.[41]
  • 52.8% was the average hotel-occupancy contribution from loyalty-program members in 2024.[40]
  • 65% of consumers said better discounts would make them engage more with hospitality loyalty programs in 2024.[42]

Customer acquisition in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • US$74,337 was the average annual digital-advertising and media spend per hotel property reported in 2024.[16]
  • 6.6% was the 2025 growth in global-distribution-system hotel revenue globally, according to SiteMinder.[43]
  • US$445 was the average value of a wholesaler, DMC or tour-operator hotel booking globally in 2025.[43]
  • US$392 was the average value of a global-distribution-system hotel booking globally in 2025.[43]
  • 90% of markets ranked direct hotel bookings among their top three revenue-generating channels in 2025.[43]

Customer loyalty in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 57% of global GHA DISCOVERY members cited the number of hotels and locations as a key loyalty-program preference in 2024.[44]
  • 60% of global GHA DISCOVERY members cited included benefits and perks as a key loyalty-program preference in 2025.[44]
  • 35% of gross fee revenue at least one major hotel group came from its top 1% of loyalty members in 2024.[42]
  • 20% of active U.S. leisure travelers belonged to Choice Privileges in the fourth quarter of 2024.[45]
  • 31% of active U.S. leisure travelers belonged to IHG One Rewards in the fourth quarter of 2024.[45]

Lead generation in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 4.8% was the global click-through rate for hospitality email sends to databases under 5,000 contacts in 2025.[46]
  • 2.1% was the average hospitality-email click-through rate in APAC in 2024.[47]
  • 43.9% was the global open rate for hospitality email sends to databases under 5,000 contacts in 2025.[46]
  • 31.8% was the average hospitality-email open rate in APAC in 2024.[47]
  • 36.4% was the average hospitality-email open rate in EMEA in 2024.[47]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Hotel marketing measurement increasingly depends on captured first-party data. The global average additional revenue generated per correctly captured hotel guest email address was $9.85 in 2024.

Marketing in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • $9.85 was the global average additional revenue generated per correctly captured hotel guest email address in 2024.[47]
  • 26% of hotels engage travel influencers through an agency to promote direct bookings, according to a 2025 global hotel survey.[17]
  • 37% of hotels assign dedicated team members to manage marketing or distribution channels, according to a 2025 global hotel survey.[17]
  • 46% of hotels use CRM marketing and website offers to promote direct bookings, according to a 2025 global hotel survey.[17]
  • 73% of EMEA hotel database records contained valid, non-OTA-obscured email addresses in the 2024 benchmark.[47]

Digital marketing in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • $1,289 was the average booking value for hotel cart-abandonment campaigns in the 2026 benchmark.[47]
  • 15.17% was the average click-through rate for recurring hotel email campaigns in the 2026 hospitality benchmark.[47]
  • $1,479 was the average booking value for double-opt-in recurring hotel email campaigns in the 2026 benchmark.[47]
  • 24% was the year-over-year increase in hotel searches and bookings recorded by Sojern in 2023.[48]
  • 2.37% was the average click-through rate for one-time hotel email campaigns in the 2026 hospitality benchmark.[47]

Branding in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 0.2% was the RevPAR compound annual decline of the weakest major hotel brand family from 2014 to 2024.[49]
  • 4% was Marriott’s approximate share of the hotel market outside the United States by rooms in 2024.[22]
  • 1.7 times was the average preference advantage of hard hotel brands over soft brands in Skift’s consumer data.[50]
  • 15% was the compound annual growth rate of major hotel-company loyalty-program membership over the decade ending in 2024.[49]
  • 7% was the compound annual growth rate of major hotel-company brand portfolios over the decade ending in 2024.[49]

Social media in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 100% was the social-media score for Hilton Worldwide in the 2024 hotel-group digital-maturity assessment.[51]
  • 75% of travelers used social platforms as a source of travel inspiration in the 2024 hotel-group digital-maturity report.[51]
  • 80% of the top global hotel groups were not leveraging YouTube to its full potential in the 2024 assessment.[51]
  • 20% of hotels scored well in social-media utilization in the 2024 hotel-group digital-maturity assessment.[51]
  • 100% was the social-media score for Hyatt Hotels in the 2024 hotel-group digital-maturity assessment.[51]

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.[52]
  • 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.[52]
  • More than 6.5 million influencer posts about the travel industry were published globally in 2023, generating an average engagement rate of 2.4%.[53]
  • 91% of hospitality brands include some form of influencer marketing in their brand strategy, based on a 2026 hospitality-sector survey.[54]
  • 49% of hospitality brands include paid influencer work in their brand strategy, up from 37% in the previous survey period.[54]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operators attribute productivity gains to AI for routine work, while turnover remains a measurable constraint. Hotel turnover was 5.35% in June 2026.

Process optimization in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 29% of U.S. restaurant operators that added technology reported improved employee training in 2025.[55]
  • 74% of U.S. restaurant operators said technology integration would augment rather than replace human labor in 2025.[55]
  • 15% of U.S. restaurant operators that added technology said it made recruiting or retaining employees easier in 2025.[55]
  • 69% of U.S. restaurant operators that added technology in the previous two or three years said it made their restaurants more efficient or productive in 2025.[55]
  • 49% of U.S. restaurant operators expected technology and automation addressing labor challenges to become more common in their segment during 2025.[55]

Operational efficiency in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 90% of surveyed hotel executives said artificial intelligence helped routine work get done faster in 2026.[56]
  • Hotel turnover was 5.35% in June 2026 according to HotelData.com analysis of Actabl data.[56]
  • Hotel turnover was 5.84% in June 2025 according to HotelData.com analysis of Actabl data.[56]
  • Hours per occupied room fell 3.5% at select-service hotels using Actabl's Hotel Effectiveness tool during the first half of 2026.[56]
  • 84% of surveyed hotel executives said artificial intelligence improved their own work in 2026.[56]

Quality management in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 75 was the 2025 U.S. lodging score for food-service quality in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.[39]
  • 82 was the 2025 U.S. lodging score for staff courtesy and helpfulness in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.[39]
  • 79 was IHG's 2025 American Customer Satisfaction Index score among U.S. lodging companies.[39]
  • 82 was the 2025 U.S. lodging score for ease of check-in and checkout in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.[39]
  • 699 was the 2025 J.D. Power overall satisfaction score for hotel guests who had their brand's mobile app downloaded, on a 1,000-point scale.[57]

Supply chain in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 1.29 kilograms per occupied room was India's reported hotel food-waste intensity in the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking 2025 dataset.[58]
  • 1,940 properties submitted food-waste data in the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking 2025 edition globally.[58]
  • 14% of excess food and food waste generated by the U.S. hospitality sector was sent to anaerobic digestion in the Environmental Protection Agency estimate.[59]
  • 18.0 million tons of excess food and food waste were generated annually by the U.S. hospitality sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency estimate.[59]
  • 38,000 tons of excess food and food waste came from U.S. sports venues annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency estimate.[59]

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

  • 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.[30]
  • Six in 10 travel buyers worldwide relied on their travel management company for sourcing support in 2025.[14]
  • 14% of travel supplier and TMC professionals whose companies were not adding staff expected to outsource more work to third parties in 2025.[30]
  • 54% of organizations across North America and EMEA outsourced some or all hotel RFP activities to travel management companies or consultants in 2026.[30]
  • Around three in 10 travel buyers worldwide engaged external consultants for travel-supplier sourcing in 2025.[14]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

U.S. demand looks supported but pricing and costs stay uneven. U.S. hotel guest spending is expected to approach $805B in 2026.

Pricing strategy in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 65.8% was the average occupancy rate for U.S. hotels in 2019, before the pandemic.[56]
  • $159.00 was the average daily rate for U.S. hotels in 2024, according to AHLA and STR/CoStar data.[56]
  • $102.78 was the forecast U.S. hotel revenue per available room for 2025, up 2.58% from 2024.[56]
  • $93.39 was U.S. hotel revenue per available room in 2022, according to AHLA’s 2024 report.[56]
  • $101.82 was the forecast U.S. hotel revenue per available room for 2024, according to AHLA’s 2024 industry report.[56]

Cost reduction in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 54% of U.S. hotels offered flexible scheduling to recruit and retain employees in 2026.[56]
  • 59% of U.S. hotel owners cited fluctuating demand and occupancy as a financial pressure in 2026.[56]
  • 42% of U.S. hotel owners cited workforce shortages as a financial pressure in 2026.[56]
  • 54% of U.S. hotels offered hotel discounts to recruit and retain employees in 2026.[56]
  • 70% of U.S. hotels offered higher wages to recruit and retain employees in 2026.[56]

Profitability in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 2.8% was the median profit margin for full-service restaurants in 2024, according to National Restaurant Association data.[60]
  • $352.3 billion was U.S. hotel industry sales in 2024, 1.8% above 2019 after inflation adjustment.[56]
  • GOPPAR for U.S. hotels remained roughly 90% of 2019 levels in 2025, according to AHLA.[56]
  • 81% of United Kingdom accommodation and food-service businesses reported turnover challenges in October 2024.[61]
  • 16% of United Kingdom accommodation and food-service businesses expected turnover to increase in November 2024.[61]

Financial planning in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 8% of U.S. hotel owners and operators moved forward with new investments in 2025.[56]
  • 32% of U.S. hotel owners and operators delayed development or renovation projects in 2025.[56]
  • 39% of U.S. hoteliers expected 2026 demand to remain stable compared with 2025.[56]
  • 6% of U.S. hoteliers expected 2026 demand to be much stronger than in 2025.[56]
  • 29% of U.S. hoteliers expected 2026 demand to be somewhat stronger than in 2025.[56]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Customer-facing app and in-room features correlate with satisfaction. Hotel guests using a brand mobile app recorded satisfaction of 699 points in J.D. Power’s 2025 study.

Product development in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 336,205 U.S. hotel rooms were in the planning stage in September 2024, up 38.4% year over year.[56]
  • 702 hotels were net additions to Hilton’s system in 2025 after removals.[62]
  • 8% of surveyed U.S. hoteliers canceled development or renovation projects in 2025.[56]
  • 24% of surveyed U.S. hoteliers scaled back development or renovation plans in 2025.[56]
  • 796 Hilton hotels opened globally during 2025.[62]

Product lifecycle in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • Excluding strategic partnership openings, conversions represented 33% of Hilton’s gross room openings in 2025.[62]
  • Conversions represented 38% of Hilton’s gross room openings in 2025, including strategic partnership hotels.[62]
  • Hilton’s 2025 openings comprised 97,000 rooms, while net additions totaled 81,100 rooms after removals.[62]
  • Hotel construction projects that started in the United States during 2023 took about 1.6 years to open, according to AHLA’s 2026 industry report.[63]
  • 300-plus-room U.S. hotel projects generally required more than two years to complete after construction started.[63]

After-sales in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • Hotel guests were 13% more likely to return to a specific brand when satisfied with how loyalty rewards were recognized.[3]
  • Hotel guest satisfaction fell 217 points, from 677 to 460, when a problem occurred during the stay.[57]
  • Hotel guests using their brand’s mobile app recorded satisfaction of 699 points, 68 points above nonusers, in J.D. Power’s 2025 study.[57]
  • 46% of surveyed hotel guests recalled personalization during the stay itself in Medallia’s 2023 study.[23]
  • 63% of surveyed hotel guests recalled personalized elements during customer-service interactions in Medallia’s 2023 study.[23]

Value proposition in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • Millennial hotel guests wanted surprise-and-delight experiences 71% more than other generations in Deloitte’s survey.[3]
  • Hotel guests with a brand mobile app recorded 699 satisfaction points, indicating a 68-point value difference versus guests without the app.[57]
  • 72% of North American hotel guests said their room included a smart TV in 2025, up from 39% in 2019.[57]
  • 75% of hospitality professionals ranked personalized guest experiences as the industry trend with the biggest expected impact over the next 18 months.[64]
  • Luxury hotel guests valued customization 33% more than guests at other hotel tiers in Deloitte’s survey.[3]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability reporting and intensity targets show up in measured operational metrics. Hilton reduced managed-hotel water intensity by 36.3% from its 2008 baseline in 2024.

Sustainability in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 452,000-plus volunteer hours were reported by Hilton team members in 2024.[65]
  • 7.3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions came from Travel & Tourism in 2024, worldwide.[66]
  • 36.3% was Hilton’s reduction in managed-hotel water intensity from its 2008 baseline in 2024.[65]
  • 80% of travelers said traveling more sustainably was important to them, according to a 2024 hospitality sustainability guide.[67]
  • 48.1% was Hilton’s reduction in managed-hotel carbon-emissions intensity from its 2008 baseline in 2024.[65]

ESG in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 57.5% of Hilton operated-hotel energy came from grid electricity in 2024.[65]
  • 36.8% of Hilton’s operated-hotel waste was diverted from landfills in 2024.[65]
  • 0.0186 metric tons of CO2e per available room night was IHG’s global total greenhouse-gas intensity in 2025.[21]
  • 478,527 metric tons was Hilton’s total landfilled waste across managed and franchised hotels in 2024.[65]
  • 17.3% was Hilton’s voluntary turnover rate for U.S. lodging-facility employees in 2024.[65]

Ethics in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 100% of Hilton hotels were mapped against climate risks and the WWF Water Risk Filter in 2024.[65]
  • 93.6% of luxury hotels in a 2024 U.S. lodging survey provided diversity, equity and inclusion training.[68]
  • 99.3% of surveyed U.S. hotels had initiatives supporting small and diverse suppliers in 2024.[68]
  • 67.7% of surveyed U.S. hotels had flexible or agile working policies in 2024.[68]
  • 7,500-plus Hilton managed and franchised properties supplied utility data through LightStay for 2024 assurance reporting.[65]

CSR in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 349 million jobs were supported by hospitality worldwide in 2024, according to circular-tourism sector research.[69]
  • 300-plus action grants were planned by Hilton for hotel-led social and environmental projects supporting local communities.[65]
  • 67.6% of surveyed U.S. hotels offered mentorship and training opportunities related to workplace inequality in 2024.[68]
  • $500,000 was committed by Hilton to combat human trafficking through No Room For Trafficking in 2024.[65]
  • $1.4 million-plus was distributed by Hilton to more than 4,000 team members affected by disasters, crises and hardship in 2024.[65]

Circular economy in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 8% of IHG’s reported 2024 waste production came from hotel-reported data, while 92% was estimated.[21]
  • 79,747 metric tons of IHG hotel food waste were reported in 2024.[21]
  • 88,190 metric tons of IHG hotel waste were recycled in 2024.[21]
  • 216,648 metric tons of IHG hotel waste were classified as general waste not recycled in 2024.[21]
  • Roughly 70% of hotel emissions came from the production, transport and disposal of goods and services used by hotels, according to 2026 circular-tourism research.[69]

Carbon footprint in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 0.0209 metric tons of CO2e per available room night was IHG’s global total greenhouse-gas intensity in 2019.[21]
  • 1,444.93 tonnes of CO2e were emitted by a four-star hotel in Türkiye in 2022, according to a longitudinal hotel footprint study.[70]
  • 0.0112 metric tons of CO2e per available room night was IHG’s franchised-hotel Scope 3 intensity in 2025.[21]
  • 27.06 kilograms of CO2e per overnight stay was the same Turkish four-star hotel’s carbon intensity in 2022.[70]
  • 6.37% of tourism-related greenhouse-gas emissions were attributed to accommodation in the cited sustainability research.[71]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

International system spread continues to show in occupancy and distribution patterns. Marriott’s international comparable company-operated occupancy was 69.9% for full-year 2024.

Globalization in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 50 million international tourist arrivals were received by landlocked developing countries in 2024, representing about 3.5% of the global total.[84]
  • $110.921 billion was Expedia Group’s total gross bookings during full-year 2024.[85]
  • 69.9% was Marriott’s international comparable company-operated occupancy for full-year 2024.[86]
  • $445 was the average international tourism export revenue per arrival in landlocked developing countries in 2024.[84]
  • 69.5% was Marriott’s worldwide comparable systemwide occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2024.[86]

Cultural adaptation in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 54% of surveyed adults in nine IHG markets said they were always relaxed during their hotel stay.[87]
  • 20% of surveyed adults in nine IHG markets said they were comfortable staying in pajamas and hotel slippers.[87]
  • 54% of surveyed adults in nine IHG markets rated room service among their three most popular hotel-stay features.[87]
  • 92% of surveyed adults in nine IHG markets said they could be totally themselves when staying in a hotel.[87]
  • 14% of surveyed adults in nine IHG markets worried that their children might misbehave and disturb other hotel guests.[87]

Supplier management in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • Nearly $255 million was Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ responsible-supplier sourcing spend in 2024.[88]
  • 260 procurement specialists managed Accor’s global supplier relationships in 2026.[11]
  • 44% of IHG’s business awarded through its procurement programs went to IHG Green suppliers in 2024.[21]
  • More than 5,000 supplier partners worldwide worked with Accor in 2026.[11]
  • 263 suppliers completed IHG’s Sustainability Questionnaire in 2024.[21]

Stakeholder management in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • Seven volunteer events were held by Host Hotels & Resorts in 2024 to support community and environmental causes.[89]
  • 33% of Host Hotels & Resorts promotions came from diverse groups in 2024.[89]
  • 100% of Host Hotels & Resorts employees completed code-of-conduct and ethics training in 2025.[89]
  • 126 organizations supported by Host Hotels & Resorts in 2024 were selected by employees.[89]
  • 94% of Kempinski hotels and residences reported energy and emissions data in 2023.[90]

Distribution channels in the leisure and hospitality industry

  • 9.5% of U.S. hotel room nights were booked through global distribution systems in 2016.[56]
  • More than 22% of U.S. hotel room nights were booked through hotel-owned websites in 2017.[56]
  • 14.2% of U.S. hotel room nights were generated by groups, meetings and events in 2016.[56]
  • 8.1% of U.S. hotel room nights were booked by telephone in 2016.[56]
  • 20.0% of U.S. hotel room nights were booked through hotel brand websites in 2016.[56]

Key questions about the leisure and hospitality industry

What is the current scale of the global hospitality market?
The global hospitality market reached $5.52T in 2025.
How fast is the hospitality market expected to grow through 2030?
The global hospitality market is forecast to reach $7.48T by 2030, a 6.4% CAGR from 2025.
Which companies lead the leisure and hospitality industry?
Royal Caribbean Group leads Gitnux's 2026 leisure and hospitality ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with 108,000 employees in 2025. Hilton is the highest-ranked hotel group at 9.4, with 9,158 properties and 1.35 million rooms in 143 countries.
What technology shift is gaining attention across hotel and restaurant operators?
Hotel and travel AI adoption is moving from pilots into operations, with 90% of respondents saying AI helped routine work get done faster in the first half of 2026.
How is the industry structured for growth and property control?
Large hotel groups expand mainly through franchising, management contracts and brand portfolios rather than direct property ownership, with Marriott reporting 7,192 franchised/licensed/asset-light properties in 2024.
What regulatory change affects pricing transparency for lodging?
On May 12, 2025, the FTC rule required mandatory lodging fees to be included in displayed total prices for covered short-term lodging.
Reference

Cite This Report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Leisure And Hospitality Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/leisure-and-hospitality-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Leisure And Hospitality Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/leisure-and-hospitality-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Leisure And Hospitality Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/leisure-and-hospitality-industry-statistics.

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