Hotel industry worldwide - statistics & facts
As a home away from home, hotels play a significant role in many travelers’ lives. From the height of luxury to budget chains, there are hotels to match all consumer needs. Some hotels are even known across the world, for example, luxury establishments like the classic Waldorf Astoria in New York or the awe-inspiring Burj Al Arab Jumeirah in Dubai. Unsurprisingly, both of these institutions featured in the list of the most Instagrammed hotels worldwide. While other accommodation options like Airbnb have become extremely popular, hotels are still a huge business globally, and in 2023 the hotel and resort industry market size worldwide reached 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars, showing an increase over the previous year. Global hotel occupancy rates have also seen growth over the last years, rebounding back to pre-pandemic levels.
As evidenced by not only the significant number of projects in the pipeline, but also upward trends in market size and occupancy, the outlook for the hotel industry in the upcoming years is one of growth.
What are the biggest hotel companies in the world?
Battling for the top spot are a few key players in the hotel industry. When looking at the leading global hotel brands by brand value, Hilton Worldwide took the top spot with a brand value of 11.75 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Incidentally, CEO of Hilton Worldwide, Christopher Nassetta, was the highest paid hotel CEO worldwide in 2023. Meanwhile, in a ranking of the leading hotel and resort companies worldwide by sales, Marriot International ranked first with sales amounting to 22.2 billion U.S. dollars. However, sales and brand value are not the only figures that can be used to measure a hotel company's success. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts surpassed Hilton and Marriot International in a ranking of the hotels with the most properties worldwide accounting for over nine thousand units.Markets with the most hotel projects in the pipeline worldwide
The number of hotels in the construction pipeline worldwide that were already under construction was around 6.2 thousand in 2024. Some regions, however, were predicted to experience more growth than others. As of the first quarter of 2024, the country with the highest number of hotel projects in the pipeline was the United States. Meanwhile, the country with the highest number of hotel rooms in the pipeline as of Q1 2024 was China. The latter country had around 70 thousand more hotel rooms in the pipeline in comparison to the United States. It is therefore unsurprising that the top two cities with the most rooms in the construction pipeline worldwide were located in China.As evidenced by not only the significant number of projects in the pipeline, but also upward trends in market size and occupancy, the outlook for the hotel industry in the upcoming years is one of growth.
