Spending by guests staying at North Carolina hotels and motels topped $13.6 billion last year according to a new report from the industry’s leading advocacy group.
According to an economic analysis from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Oxford Economics, the state had 167,910 hotel rooms at 1,974 properties in 2022.
The hotel industry in North Carolina employed 51,367 people last year, representing 3.3 percent of all jobs statewide. Total wages, salaries and compensation for employees of North Carolina hotels was just over $2 billion direct, with hotel-supported earnings of $10 billion.
North Carolina on-site hotel revenues, employment, wages, and salaries generated 427.2 million in federal taxes, $704.1 million in state and local taxes, and $448.2 million in local occupancy taxes.
In N.C. Congressional District 3, which includes all of the Greater Outer Banks, hotel guest spending was calculated at $996.4 million, with 196 properties and 12,464 rooms.
Wages and salaries in the region was $148/3 million from 4,152 jobs. Federal taxes generated in the district were $34.8 million, $51.5 million in state and local taxes, and $33 million in local occupancy taxes.
American hotels support 8.3 million jobs nationwide, which is equivalent to nearly one in 25 U.S. jobs, the group said.
“Hotels are investing in our workforce to create good jobs that power local economies, and this analysis is proof of that,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers.
“To continue supporting millions of good-paying jobs and generating billions in tax revenue in communities across the nation, hotels need to hire more people,” Rogers said. “The good news is that there’s never been a better time to build a lifelong hotel career, with average hotel wages at near-record levels, better benefits than ever before, and unprecedented opportunity to move up the ranks.”
The study, which includes a breakdown of the hotel industry’s economic impact in every state and congressional district, provides a comprehensive look at how hotels are contributing to communities across the nation. It finds that in 2022 alone:
- Hotel guests spent a total of more than $691 billion on lodging, transportation, food and beverage, retail and other expenses.
- For each $100 of spending on lodging, hotel guests spent another $220 during their trip.
- Hotels paid employees more than $104 billion in wages, salaries, and other compensation, and supported $463 billion in total wages, salaries, and other compensation.
- Hotels directly generated $72.4 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue and supported nearly $211.2 billion in total federal, state, and local tax revenue.
The top five states in 2022 for hotel guest spending were:
The top five states in 2022 for hotel wages, salaries, and compensation were:
The top five states in 2022 for hotel-generated federal, state, and local tax revenue were:
This hotel-related economic activity is resulting in unprecedented career opportunities for current and prospective hotel employees. As of March, national average hotel wages were among the highest ever at more than $23 per hour. Since the pandemic, average hotel wages have increased faster than average wages throughout the general economy. And hotel benefits and flexibility are better than ever.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of April, hotel employment is down by more than 250,000 jobs compared to February 2020. Hotels are looking to fill many of the jobs lost during the pandemic, including more than 100,000 hotel jobs currently open across the nation.
To help hotels fill open jobs and raise awareness of the hotel industry’s 200+ career pathways, the AHLA Foundation’s “A Place to Stay” multi-channel advertising campaign is now active in 20 cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, Seattle, and Boston. For more info on the campaign, visit thehotelindustry.com.
