60+ hospitality statistics
and trends

The travel industry has always been resilient, responding to new technology, changing political climates, and life-altering current events. No matter what, the industry adjusts and comes out stronger than ever.

But what can we expect this year and in the future?

There’s no better way to understand the current state of the hospitality sector than from trusted data sources like STR, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statista, and more. Here we’ve compiled a roundup of key hospitality industry statistics to help you understand the current state of the industry, travel trends, unemployment rates, and more.

Global hospitality industry statistics

The tourism industry experienced remarkable recovery and reached pre-pandemic levels across hotel occupancy rates, daily rates, profitability, and RevPAR. Looking ahead, we can expect rapid growth rates to decline, with global travelers returning to more normal booking behavior.

• The State of the Hospitality Market Size was valued at USD 4,107.60 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 9,950 billion in 2028 with a CAGR of 16.13% during the forecast period 2023 to 2028. (Source)

• Travel and tourism accounted for 6.1 percent of the global gross domestic product (global GDP) in 2021 (Source)

• Looking at a longer-term forecast, between 2022 and 2032, Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the global economy is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.8% which is more than double the 2.7% average annual growth rate estimated for the global economy. (Source)

• According to Statista, 69% of total revenue from the international travel and tourism market is booked online, representing approximately USD 475 billion in revenue in 2022 and forecasted to surpass USD 521 billion in 2023. (Source)

• As of late December 2022, unaffiliated hotels representing approximately 30,000 rooms were in construction — a growth of about 2 percent compared to 2021. (Source)

• STR predicts that there are over 17.5 million guestrooms in 187,000 hotels worldwide. (Source)

• Marriott International is the world’s biggest hotel provider, with a revenue of USD 10.6 billion. (Source)

• Hotel brands and hotel chains had 131,000 rooms under construction in December 2022. (Source)

• There are roughly 60,000 US hotels, ⅓ of which are independent. (Source)

• The global luxury travel ecosystem is valued at USD 1.54 trillion, with 1.4 trillion being spent on lodging and airfare. (Source)

Post-pandemic recovery

• In November 2022, hotel room rates in the US achieved double-digit growth, but when inflation was factored in, ADR was actually 0.7% below pre-pandemic levels. (Source)

• Expedia anticipates a boom in bookings of three-star hotels that offer “excellent amenities, stylish interiors, and unique vibes as a standard.” (Source)

• Global business travel is expected to fully recover by 2024. (Source)

• Deloitte’s 2022 Travel Outlook report identified that younger and wealthier travelers are leading the return to travel. (Source)

• Among independent properties, hotel rates increased slightly from 2019 to 2022 and continued to grow in 2021 and 2022, exceeding 2019 ADR by 17%. (Source)

• STR reports that in some destinations, shoulder days – Sundays and Thursdays – have recovered from the pandemic downturn almost as rapidly as weekends, while midweek days have lagged. (Source)

Booking behavior 

From the blending of business and leisure travel to a growing emphasis on sustainability, the hotel market has changed significantly over the past few years.

• According to Expedia, travel is more important than it was pre-pandemic for 46% of travelers and even more so for Millennials (52%) and Gen Zs (50%). (Source)

• 44% of travelers prefer leisure trips of at least 7 nights, with 26% preferring stays of 10+ nights. (Source)

• Expedia’s Value Index 2023 survey found that 76% of business travelers plan to extend a work trip for leisure in 2023, and 28% plan to take a flexcation. (Source)

• During Airbnb’s Q1 earnings, CEO Brian Chesky noted that long stays (over 28 days) grew to 25% of the business, up from 14% in 2019. (Source)

Value-driven decision-making

• 70% of business travelers are interested in purchasing more than core hotel products as they can expense costs back to their company. (Source)

• According to Expedia, the most appealing deals to travelers are complimentary add-ons and discounts for hotel bookings in advance, last-minute, a package, or a longer stay. (Source)

• 70% of travelers want personalized travel offers. (Source)

• A survey from Expedia found that 35% of travelers are more concerned about value than ever before, and 43% plan to stay in one to three-star hotels in 2023. (Source)

• 32% of travelers are planning to visit a bucket-list destination post-pandemic. (Source)

• Travelers want unique vacations that shock, surprise, and delight, with 50% seeking complete culture shock and 73% seeking out-of-comfort zone travel that pushes them to the limits. (Source)

• According to a Skift survey, 34% of Americans plan to cut down on their travel spending in 2023 because of the high prices of travel products. (Source) 

• Last August, Google observed that searches for hostels and budget hotels had grown by 300% globally from the previous year. (Source)

Factors influencing decision-making 

• 30% of travelers cite cancellation policy as one of the top three factors influencing where they book accommodations. (Source)

• In 72% of cases, travelers will choose a hotel with a higher guest review score over one with a brand name or a lower price. For example, guests would pay 35% more for a hotel with a score of 4.4 compared to a hotel with a score of 3.9. (Source) 

• 81% of travelers always or often read reviews before booking their accommodations. (Source) 

• A recent survey from Software Advice and Google found that nearly 50% of travelers would be most likely to make a direct reservation if a hotel offered a room upgrade as an incentive. (Source)

• A Cornell study found that 93% of consumers switch between different online travel agencies (OTAs) before making a final decision. (Source)

• According to Yieldify, travelers spend, on average more than four months researching their trip before departure and visit 38+ travel websites. (Source)

Sustainability

• 59% of travelers reported they would spend more to improve the sustainability of their trips. (Source) 

• 61% of travelers reported that the coronavirus pandemic inspired them to travel more sustainably. (Source)

• 81% of travelers stated that they wanted to stay in sustainable accommodations in the next year. (Source) 

• 73% of travelers would be more likely to choose accommodations that have implemented sustainability practices. (Source)

• 90% of consumers now look for sustainable options when traveling, and half are willing to pay more for transportation, activities, and lodging if the option is more sustainable. (Source)

Booking source

How are traveler booking patterns changing? Are online travel agencies (OTAs) still the leading source of online bookings, or are travelers starting to book direct?

• 39% of consumers said they would typically book directly, versus 17% opting for OTA and price comparison sites. (Source)

• The average accommodation purchase journey lasts 36 days and involves 45 touchpoints across several devices and types of websites. (Source)

• Euromonitor estimates that 1 in 4 travel bookings will be on mobile by 2024. (Source)

• 75% of consumers who booked directly with a hotel online visited an OTA before purchasing. (Source)

• In 2019, OTA-sourced bookings made up 57% of all reservations, while non-OTA bookings made up the remaining 43%. During the pandemic, there was a significant shift toward direct bookings due to decreased advertising budgets for OTAs. (Source)

• In the 60 days before purchasing a hotel reservation, travelers make 25 visits to travel-related sites. (Source)

• 66% of all bookings were conducted online in 2023, and mobile accounts for 35% of all online sales. (Source)

Hospitality technology statistics

The hotel industry is experiencing rapid digitalization across various areas, including guest experience, marketing, revenue management, and more.

• 72% of hotel guests will likely return to a property when the tech they want is available. (Source)

• Studies show that a lack of technology is the number one reason hotels don’t have an upselling strategy. (Source)

• 64% of hotels worldwide use booking engines. (Source)

• 45% of hotels worldwide use website builders and direct booking tools. (Source)

• POS software plays an essential role in the hospitality industry, and the global POS software market is predicted to reach USD 19.56 billion by 2028. (Source)

• According to Hospitality Tech’s 2023 POS industry trends report, integration is one of the key features driving POS purchases. (Source)

Hospitality online marketing statistics

How are travelers finding lodging operators in today’s market? Travelers of all ages are moving to platforms like Google and TikTok for travel research and booking. 

• Google dominates the global search engine market share with a 92% market share. (Source)

• According to Skift, Google accounts for 67% of all metasearch spending. (Source)

• Over 40% of travelers over the age of 30 prefer the social media platform TikTok over Google as a search tool. (Source)

• Ross Bordem, CEO and Founder of Matador Network, a travel content creator community, predicts that short-form video will become the most crucial form of marketing in the next decade. (Source)

• A December 2022 survey from Google found that 41% of respondents use YouTube video content in their travel research. (Source)

• 67% of travel enthusiasts use Instagram to find inspiration for new travel journeys. (Source)

Hospitality employment statistics

One of the most significant impacts of the pandemic was on employment. Unemployment levels are still at an all-time high, with businesses worldwide looking for ways to attract qualified talent.

Staffing & hiring

• In the food services and accommodation industry, it now takes 5.5 weeks on average to fill job openings compared to two to three weeks in previous years. (Source)

• In July 2022, leisure and hospitality employees in the US made, on average, USD 20.22 per hour, up USD 18.60 from the year before. (Source)

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, the hospitality industry has the highest turnover rate of any sector at 86.3%. (Source)

• Women now hold one in four of all chief-level positions at hotel companies. (Source)

Labor shortages

• Hotels will struggle with staffing shortages until 2025, when the industry is expected to make a true adjusted recovery. (Source)

• In an October 2022 poll from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), 87% of respondents indicated they were experiencing a staffing shortage, 36% severely so. (Source)

• The AHLA predicts that by the start of 2023, hotel employment will reach 93% of pre-pandemic levels. (Source)

• Due to the effects of the pandemic, as of October 2021, there were 300,000 fewer workers in the hotel industry than just two years prior. (Source)