Hotel-generated state and local tax revenue will climb to new figures nationally to reach $46.71 billion in states across the U.S., revealed a latest study.
As per the projections released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and Oxford Economics, average hotel occupancy in the U.S. will reach 63.8% this year, just shy of 65.9% in 2019.
The 10 states expected to have the highest gross increase in hotel-generated state and local tax revenue (from 2019 to 2023) are:
| STATE | 2019 | PROJECTED 2023 | % INCREASE | $ INCREASE |
| NATIONWIDE | $41,117.537,798 | $46.715,002,197 | 13.6% | $5,597,464,399 |
| FLORIDA | $3,255,107,570 | $4,020,901,309 | 23.5% | $765,793,739 |
| CALIFORNIA | $4,929,904,924 | $5,530,396,328 | 12.2% | $600,491,404 |
| TEXAS | $2,387,684,311 | $2,749,565,618 | 15.2% | $361,881,307 |
| NEVADA | $2,684,885,908 | $3,015,523,599 | 12.3% | $330,637,691 |
| NEW YORK | $3,790,399,745 | $4,078,295,845 | 7.6% | $287,896,100 |
| MICHIGAN | $1,076,746,954 | $1,286,462,115 | 19.5% | $209,715,161 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | $947.540,706 | $1,117,219,666 | 17.9% | $169,678,960 |
| NEW JERSEY | $1,055,588,877 | $1913 565 116 | 15% | $157,976,239 |
| ILLINOIS | $1,717.459,069 | $1,871,729,337 | 9% | $154,270,268 |
| MARYLAND | $997,445,582 | $1,149,089,334 | 15.2% | $151,643,752 |
The 10 states expected to have the highest hotel occupancy this year are:
| STATE | 2019 | 2023 PROJECTED | 2019 VS. 2023 |
| NATIONWIDE | 65.9% | 63.8% | -3.2% |
| HAWAII | 80.8% | 78.7% | –2.6% |
| CALIFORNIA | 74.9% | 73.8% | -1.5% |
| ALASKA | 66.9% | 71.2% | 6.4% |
| FLORIDA | 72 % | 70.5% | –2.1% |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 76.4%
|
68.7%
|
-10% |
| ARIZONA | 68.6% | 67.9% | -1% |
| NEW YORK | 73.8% | 67.5% | –8.5% |
| WASHINGTON | 68.4% | 66.3% | –3.1% |
| COLORADO | 67.8% | 65.1% | -4% |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 67.8% | 64.8% | -4.4% |
Staffing, however, will continue to be a challenge for many hotels across the country this year, even as the industry continues to expand its workforce to its pre-pandemic figures.
According to Indeed, almost 100,000 hotel jobs are currently open.
“Hotels are making significant strides toward recovery, supporting millions of good-paying jobs and generating billions in state and local tax revenue in communities across the nation,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. “To continue growing, we need to hire more people. Fortunately, there’s never been a better time to be a hotel employee, with wages, benefits, flexibility and upward mobility better than ever before.”
Across the U.S., hotels are on a hiring spree as they’re looking to fill the vacancies that fell empty during the pandemic. As of Dec. 2022, the national average hotel wage had reached an all-time high of more than $23 per hour, and hotel benefits and flexibility were better than ever.
To help hotels fill vacancies and raise awareness of the hotel industry’s more than 200 career pathways, the AHLA Foundation’s “A Place to Stay” multi-channel advertising campaign is active across 14 cities.
AHLA affiliate “Hospitality is Working” also recently launched the Workforce & Immigration Initiative, which is aimed at urging Congress to address shortages in the workforce with bipartisan solutions to add more immigrants into the economy.
According to the predictions, every direct hotel job supports 2.6 additional jobs in the community on average across the country.