Analyzing Fast Casual Market Share Trends for 2026

Listen to the short article 17 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us understand if you have feedback. Following a year of broad economic uncertainty that suppressed growth for hotels, hospitality industry leaders are looking toward 2026 with careful optimism. Rising operational expenses are slated to challenge owners this year and lower-tier segments could have a hard time amidst a growing wealth bifurcation.

And through everything, hotel companies are expected to strengthen their portfolios with new brand offerings and partnerships. As the year gets underway, Hotel Dive talked with hospitality leaders from differing corners of the industry about their 2026 predictions. Below are the leading trends anticipated to impact hotel operations, efficiency, net system development and more this year.

Overall incomes, incomes and benefits paid by U.S. hotels rose to $127 billion in 2025, according to data from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, shown Hotel Dive. In 2026, that figure is predicted to climb to $131 billion, representing a roughly 3% year-over-year increase, per AHLA. For hotel owners, rising labor costs position an obstacle to net operating earnings development, Kevin Davis, Americas CEO at JLL Hotels & Hospitality, informed Hotel Dive.

Analyzing Restaurant Market Share Trends for 2026

Increasing labor expenses have actually been an obstacle for hoteliers for years, Davis said, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, hotel labor costs have increased 15.3% from 2019 to 2025, outpacing the 12.8% development in total operating income, according to AHLA.

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

In 2015, the union backed New york city City's newly elected Mayor Zorhan Mamdani, who ran on a guarantee to raise New york city City's base pay to $30 per hour by 2030. Hotel market associations, including AHLA, have actually knocked comparable legislation across the country, consisting of the recently passed $30 wage regulation in Los Angeles. "Demand has actually not kept up with this pace," she stated. Incomes, incomes and payroll-related costs paid by hotels now account for more than 32% of overall revenue, according to AHLA.

Analyzing Fast Casual Sector Growth Trends for 2026

As more hotel guests turn to expert system to improve their travel experience, reserving hotels straight through large language designs (LLMs) might be next, hospitality professionals stated. Agentic commerce a process by which self-governing AI agents act on behalf of a customer to find, compare and complete purchases is a trend that has actually sped up across industries like retail.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

According to PwC's 2025 Vacation Outlook report, 76% of millennials stated they're most likely to utilize AI for travel recommendations. That number is growing, Jonathan Kletzel, PwC's travel, transport and logistics leader, informed Hotel Dive. Michael Klein Head of retail, travel and hospitality product marketing at Talkdesk To stay competitive with direct reservation, bigger multibrand hotel business will "embed LLMs into their own brand sites and mobile apps, and alter the way the consumer searches," Kletzel said.

"If you are not discoverable in an LLM search result which numerous brand names aren't, and this is the huge panic that they're all going through right now consumers aren't going to consider you," he stated. Michael Klein, head of retail, travel and hospitality product marketing at AI client experience platform Talkdesk, likewise informed Hotel Dive that hospitality players require to guarantee their home details is being indexed by LLMs to appear in tourist questions.