Hotel, Airline, and Travel Statistics To Know Before Your Next Vacation

Everyone enjoys going away on vacation. Having something to look forward to at the end of a busy working period is the mental boost a lot of us need to keep our wheels in motion. So when that enjoyment was thrown into question in early 2020, many people became understandably concerned about what the future of travel might look like. 

A few years past the pandemic, where does the travel sector find itself? In this short statistical breakdown, we’re going to assess what the current landscape looks like for the hotel, airline, and travel industries. Make sure to keep these handy facts in mind before you plan your next vacation (and how to get there).

Hotel Statistics

The pandemic had a big impact on a lot of sectors in 2020 – and those in the hotel industry were certainly affected. However, encouraging figures show that the sector as a whole is rebounding strongly. 

Reports for 2024 show that the forecasted occupancy rate in hotel rooms is expected to reach 63.6% for the year.¹ That represents a very small dip of just 3.4% from the pre-pandemic figures of 2019.

The figures are encouraging for the most part, but do they represent where the industry currently finds itself? Read on to discover what the landscape of the hotel business looks like in 2024.

Hotel Revenue Statistics

1. A Fintech report found that total revenue is expected to reach $758.61 billion in 2024.¹ That amounts to a rise of $35.21 billion from 2023’s total of $723.4 billion total.
2. The entire hospitality industry is expected to grow by 16.13% compound annual growth (CAGR) every year between 2023 and 2028, growing from $4,107.60 billion to $9,950 billion.²³
3. The average daily rate (ADR) that hotels are charging is expected to rise by 1.2% by the end of the next year.²
4. The ADR as of March 2024 sat at $159.79.³
5. New York saw the best RevPar (revenue per available room) figure increase at the beginning of 2024. Hotels in the city that never sleeps were up 15% from where they were in 2023.³ 
6. In Las Vegas and Nashville, RevPar had dropped roughly 10% when compared to the previous year.³
7. According to figures from January, only 2 chain hotels saw their RevPar boosted in 2024 vs. 2023. Upper upscale chains saw a 5% increase, as well as upscale chains which saw a rise of 2%.⁴
8. Economy chains saw a drop of 6% in RevPar in the same 12 months.⁴
9. Total national RevPar fell by 0.2% in February 2024.⁵ While small, this was the first decline since the start of the pandemic. 
10. The RevPar average for the entire country in March 2024 was $101.81.³ This was down 2.2% from the previous year.

General Hotel Statistics 

1. The total number of hotels and motels in the U.S. was recorded as 107,902 at the last count.⁶ 
2. Of that total, There were an estimated 59,569 hotels in the U.S. at the end of 2023.¹⁰
3. In terms of brand presence, Wyndham leads the way with the most hotels in the U.S. currently. This leading name has a total of 6,058 properties across the country.⁷
4. Wyndham is closely followed by Hilton (5,805), Marriott (5,802), and IHG (3,852).⁷
5. Everything’s bigger in Texas – and that’s certainly true of their hotel presence. The Lone Star State has 2,393 hotels in total – with Wyndham, Hilton, Marriott, and IHG all having more properties there than in any other state.⁷
6. Next on the list of states with the most hotels are California (1,725 hotels), Florida (1,574), and Georgia (924).⁷
7. The hotel industry saw a total loss of 680,000 employees between 2019 and 2020. And while figures have rebounded somewhat, a 2024 American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) survey found that 67.6% of hoteliers are experiencing staffing shortages.⁹
8. Despite that, the total number of people employed by the hotel industry is expected to rise for the fourth straight year in 2024. A total of 2.14 million jobs are estimated to be provided by the industry, up from 2.1 million in 2023.⁹
9. Despite being lower than the pre-pandemic era, hotel wages are now higher than ever. A predicted $123.44 billion is expected to be paid to workers in 2024. That’s up from $118.01 billion in 2023.⁹ 
10. Encouragingly, the signs point towards growth in the future rather than stagnation. The U.S. hotel construction pipeline currently has 5,704 projects planned, which will result in a further 672,676 rooms being built.¹⁰
11.  1,912 renovation projects are also planned. These will generate a further 285,568 rooms for the industry.¹⁰

Hotel Guest Statistics 

1. While occupancy rates may not have yet rebounded to the heights of 2019, guest spending is higher than ever. Thanks to an increase in the average daily rate, guests will spend $758.61 billion on rooms in 2024.⁹ 
2. The desire to get away has also not diminished. An AHLA report found that 53% of adults plan to spend at least 1 night away from home every 4 months for vacation or leisure travel.¹¹
3. Of those wanting to travel, 50% said they intended to spend that night away in a hotel.¹¹
4.  72% of Americans surveyed said they were as likely or more so to book a hotel in 2024 when compared to 2023.¹¹
5. However, 28% said they were either somewhat or much less likely to do so when compared to the previous year.¹¹
6. When it came to what guests are expecting from their hotel stay, cleanliness of both their room (59% of respondents) and the property itself (48%) were chief among requirements for a positive experience.⁹
7. Friendly staff (47%), a quick and easy check-in/out process (37%), and well-maintained amenities (33%) were the next most important requirements.⁹ 
8. The amenity which mattered most to guests was high-speed Wi-Fi, with 35% of respondents ranking this as their primary concern in a hotel room.¹¹
9. Next on the list were keyless entry and mobile check-in/out (14% of respondents), sustainability features (9%), in-room smart devices (9%), and contactless payment options (8%).¹¹ 
10. Most guests are now booking their trips through online travel agencies (OTAs). As many as 60% of worldwide travelers booked their vacation through an OTA in 2023.¹²

*All stats taken from AHLA 2023 travel outlook report

Airline Statistics

Airlines were one of the most heavily impacted businesses during the height of the pandemic. Flights were routinely canceled, with fewer services running than at any other point in recent history. How has the airline industry rebounded since the bust of 2020? 

1. At the beginning of 2024, U.S. airline traffic was up by 4% from the same time the previous year.¹³
2. In that 1 month alone, 59.8 million domestic passengers were recorded, as well as a further 10.2 million international passengers on U.S. airline flights.¹³ 
3. Despite the encouraging numbers, flight costs have risen by as much as 29% at U.S. airports since 2019.¹⁴
4. For domestic travel, the average airfare in the U.S. was $367.79.¹⁴
5. Perhaps to no great surprise given its location, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) had the highest average domestic airfare, at $516.95 per trip.¹⁴
6. Dane County Regional-Truax Field (MSC) ($492.89 per flight), Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) ($473.47), and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) ($466.31) were next on the list.¹⁴
7. The most expensive domestic trip in the U.S. is Eagle (EGE) in Colorado to Miami (MIA) at an average cost of $676.89. Despite the price, the route has 202 daily passengers.¹⁴
8. Through February of 2024, U.S. airlines had filled a total of 78.85% of possible seats on scheduled flights.¹⁵ 
9. On an international scale, airlines are on track to exceed pre-pandemic passenger traffic in 2024. There’s expected to be a 4.5% rise on revenue per kilometer traveled between 2019 and the end of 2024.¹⁶  
10. This healthy rise in revenue continues a positive trend for the sector. Other reports showed a 36.9% rise in total airline traffic between 2022 and 2023.¹⁶  
11. The industry expects 9.4 billion airline passengers in 2024,  an increase on the previous high of 9.2 billion in 2019.¹⁷
12.  The global airlines market is expected to grow from $523.04 billion in 2023 to $566.06 billion in 2024.¹⁸

General Travel Statistics

With inflation looming over Americans and global travelers alike, travel might be one of the top luxuries cut for budget reasons, but some stats show that people are eager to get out of their homes and hit the air or road.

1. 91% of U.S. travelers say they intend to travel domestically in 2024. 50% of them say they are going to take an international trip.¹⁹
2. 40% of U.S. travelers also said they were planning to travel more in 2024 than they did in 2023.¹⁹
3. Other reports show that as many as 93% of U.S. travelers have plans to go on a vacation in the next 6 months.²⁰
4. Despite the encouraging figures, travelers are still concerned about COVID-19 impacting plans again in the future. 51% of U.S. tourists said this was a big concern.¹⁹
5. Other factors that were troubling travelers included weather-related delays (54% of respondents), technology issues (38%), fellow travelers’ behavior (37%), and employee strikes (25%).¹⁹
6. On an international level, 1,286 million tourists were recorded as traveling in 2023, a rise of 34% from 2022.²¹  
7. This surge in tourism represents an 88% return to normality from pre-pandemic times.²¹  
8. New York City will be the most popular global spot for travel in 2024, with 30% of respondents in an Amex survey saying they want to travel there.²²
9. Miami (27%), London (26%), Las Vegas (25%), and Paris (25%) were the next most popular travel destinations.²²
10. Big trips also seem to be on the rise. 65% of respondents said they were more likely to take a major trip in 2024 than in the previous year.²²

Final Thoughts

While figures haven’t quite returned to pre-pandemic levels, it’s clear that the desire to travel, both domestically and internationally, wasn’t dampened by the events of 2020. The travel sector is gradually seeing a return to normality, with current projections likely seeing it reach the halcyon days of 2019 again within the next year or 2. For any holidaymakers looking to get out and see the world, now is just as good a time as ever.