Expert Methods to Boost Market Share via Expansion

, hospitality market leaders are looking toward 2026 with mindful optimism. Increasing functional costs are slated to challenge owners this year and lower-tier sectors might struggle amidst a growing wealth bifurcation.

And through it all, hotel business are expected to fortify their portfolios with new brand offerings and collaborations. As the year gets underway, Hotel Dive spoke to hospitality leaders from varying corners of the industry about their 2026 predictions. Below are the top trends expected to impact hotel operations, efficiency, net unit development and more this year.

Total wages, incomes and advantages paid by U.S. hotels increased to $127 billion in 2025, according to data from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, shared with Hotel Dive. In 2026, that figure is projected to reach $131 billion, representing a roughly 3% year-over-year boost, per AHLA. For hotel owners, increasing labor costs position a challenge to net operating earnings development, Kevin Davis, Americas CEO at JLL Hotels & Hospitality, informed Hotel Dive.

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Increasing labor costs have been a difficulty for hoteliers for years, Davis stated, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, hotel labor costs have actually increased 15.3% from 2019 to 2025, surpassing the 12.8% growth in total operating earnings, according to AHLA.

3, 2024 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan through Getty Images In 2026, Davis noted, union negotiations will be "front and center" in New york city City, where the New York City Hotel and Gaming Trades Council's union agreement with the Hotel Association of New York City is set to end in July.

"Demand has not kept up with this pace," she stated. Incomes, earnings and payroll-related expenditures paid by hotels now account for more than 32% of total profits, according to AHLA.

Evaluating Top Investment Schemes for 2026

As more hotel guests turn to expert system to improve their travel experience, scheduling hotels directly through big language models (LLMs) may be next, hospitality experts stated. Agentic commerce a procedure by which self-governing AI agents act on behalf of a consumer to find, compare and complete purchases is a trend that has accelerated across industries like retail.

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According to PwC's 2025 Holiday Outlook report, 76% of millennials said they're most likely to use AI for travel suggestions. That number is growing, Jonathan Kletzel, PwC's travel, transport and logistics leader, told Hotel Dive. Michael Klein Head of retail, travel and hospitality product marketing at Talkdesk To remain competitive with direct booking, larger multibrand hotel companies will "embed LLMs into their own brand name websites and mobile apps, and change the method the customer searches," Kletzel said.

"If you are not discoverable in an LLM search result which many brand names aren't, and this is the big panic that they're all going through today consumers aren't going to consider you," he said. Michael Klein, head of retail, travel and hospitality item marketing at AI customer experience platform Talkdesk, similarly told Hotel Dive that hospitality players require to ensure their property information is being indexed by LLMs to appear in tourist inquiries.