Economy

Hotel Industry Ends 2025 With Flat Growth; Human Service Stands Out

The hotel industry faced headwinds last year but is expected to see revenue growth in 2026, aided by a stabilizing environment and major national events.
Hotel Industry Ends 2025 With Flat Growth; Human Service Stands Out
A sign is posted in front of a Marriott hotel in San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2015. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Panos Mourdoukoutas
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After rebounding strongly from pandemic-era lows over the prior two years, the U.S. hotel industry entered 2025 with flat revenue growth. Looking ahead, British accounting firm PwC predicts modest but steady growth in 2026, while experts say hotels offering more human service are likely to win out.

PwC projects that revenue per available room, the hotel industry’s key performance metric, fell 0.2 percent in 2025 but is expected to grow 0.9 percent in 2026. The firm attributes the outlook to a stabilizing operating environment and a host of major national events expected to attract international visitors.
Panos Mourdoukoutas
Panos Mourdoukoutas
Author
Panos Mourdoukoutas is a professor of economics at Long Island University in New York City. He also teaches security analysis at Columbia University. He’s been published in professional journals and magazines, including Forbes, Investopedia, Barron's, IBT, and Journal of Financial Research. He’s also the author of many books, including “Business Strategy in a Semiglobal Economy” and “China's Challenge.”