According to economic research released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Oxford Economics, 8.3 million jobs are supported by hotels in the United States, which equates to approximately one in every 25 jobs in the country.
The report, which includes a breakdown of the hotel industry’s economic impact in each state and congressional district, offers insight into how hotels contribute to communities around the country. It discovered that in 2022:
- Over $691 billion was spent by hotel guests on housing, transportation, food and beverage, shopping, and other expenses.
- Hotel visitors spent an additional $220 during their stay for every $100 spent on lodging.
- Hotels paid more than $104 billion in wages, salaries, and other compensation to employees and supported a total of $463 billion in wages, salaries, and other compensation.
- Hotels generated $72.4 billion in federal, state, and municipal tax income, directly and indirectly, supporting roughly $211.2 billion in total federal, state, and local tax revenue.
This hotel-related economic activity generates job opportunities for both present and future hotel employees. National average hotel salaries in March were among the highest ever, at more than $23 per hour. Since the COVID pandemic, average hotel salaries have risen faster than average wages in the rest of the economy. And the perks and flexibility of hotels are better than ever.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, hotel employment is down by more than 250,000 jobs in April compared to February 2020. Hotels are eager to fill many of the jobs lost during the pandemic, with over 100,000 hotel vacancies currently available across the country.
The AHLA Foundation’s “A Place to Stay” advertising campaign is now active in 20 cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, Seattle, and Boston, to help hotels fill open jobs and raise awareness of the hotel industry’s 200+ career pathways.
“Hotels are investing in our workforce to create good jobs that power local economies, and this analysis is proof of that,” said AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers. “To continue supporting millions of good-paying jobs and generating billions in tax revenue in communities across the nation, hotels need to hire more people. The good news is that there’s never been a better time to build a lifelong hotel career, with average hotel wages at near-record levels, better benefits than ever before, and unprecedented opportunity to move up the ranks.”
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