AHLA Publishes State-by-State Predictions about the US Hotel Industry

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has published its projection for the hospitality industry’s performance in 2024. The organization expects hotels across the country to generate record-breaking levels of federal, state and local tax revenue while paying employees historic totals of wages, salaries and compensations.

The Association expects hotels to generate a whopping $83.4 billion in tax revenue by the end of the year. This figure includes $29 billion in federal taxes and $54.3 billion in state and local taxes. The organization also published state-by-state projections about the American hotel industry’s performance.

California is expected to remain on top, generating a grand total of almost $8.8 billion in taxes. It is followed by New York in second place, with the AHLA projecting total taxes of $8.3 billion for the Empire State.

Nevada takes the prestigious third place. Its hotels are expected to pay $3.6 billion in federal taxes, which is the highest figure out of any state. Hotels in the Silver State are furthermore projected to pay $4.4 billion in state and local taxes for a total of almost $8.1 billion in taxes.

Rounding up the top 10 are Florida, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Here is how much they are projected to pay in taxes, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association:

• Florida – $7.4 billion
• Texas – $4.3 billion
• Illinois – $2.5 billion
• Michigan – $2.3 billion
• Hawaii – $2.3 billion
• Massachusetts – $2.3 billion
• Pennsylvania – $2 billion

Spending and Salaries to Grow; Labor Shortage Remains an Issue

The association also published data about the salaries that America’s hotels are projected to pay in 2024. California takes the first spot and is expected to pay $15.3 billion in hotel wages, salaries and compensations.

In the meantime, Nevada is expected to pay a record-breaking $14.4 billion in salaries and compensations, greatly surpassing the $12.2 billion it paid last year.

Florida takes the third spot and is expected to pay $11.8 billion in wages, salaries and compensations to its workers.

In total, hotels across the USA would pay $123.4 billion in salaries this year, the American Hotel & Lodging Association believes.

In the meantime, the organization said that it expects hotel guest spending to reach a stellar $758.6 billion in 2024.  

By the end of the year, hotels would be employing as many as 2.14 million people. While hospitality properties are expected to employ 45,000 new workers, the total number of employees would still fall 225,000 jobs short of the 2.37 million people that were employed in 2019.

Nevada, for example, is expected to record $59.4 billion in guest spending and employ 180,303 people by the end of the year.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association added that there is still a shortage of workers. Indeed says that there are currently more than 80,000 hotel jobs open in the US.  

Kevin Carey, chief operating officer of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, commented on the matter, saying that the industry is facing some significant obstacles.

These include the ongoing nationwide labor shortage, stubborn inflation, and a federal regulatory agenda that threatens future economic expansion. AHLA will continue to fight for solutions to these pressing challenges so hoteliers can focus on what they do best: serving guests.

Kevin Carey, COO, AHLA

The full report, which includes data about all states, is available on the Association’s official website.