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, hospitality industry leaders are looking toward 2026 with mindful optimism. Increasing operational expenses are slated to challenge owners this year and lower-tier segments might have a hard time amid a growing wealth bifurcation.

And through all of it, hotel companies are anticipated to fortify their portfolios with new brand name offerings and partnerships. As the year gets underway, Hotel Dive talked with hospitality leaders from differing corners of the market about their 2026 forecasts. Below are the top patterns anticipated to impact hotel operations, performance, net system development and more this year.

Total incomes, wages and benefits paid by U.S. hotels rose to $127 billion in 2025, according to data from the American Hotel & Accommodations Association, shown Hotel Dive. In 2026, that figure is predicted to climb up to $131 billion, representing a roughly 3% year-over-year increase, per AHLA. For hotel owners, increasing labor costs pose an obstacle to net operating income growth, Kevin Davis, Americas CEO at JLL Hotels & Hospitality, told Hotel Dive.

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Rising labor costs have been a difficulty for hoteliers for years, Davis stated, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. In general, hotel labor costs have actually increased 15.3% from 2019 to 2025, outmatching the 12.8% growth in total operating income, according to AHLA.

3, 2024 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan by means of 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.

"Need has not kept up with this speed," she stated. "We're likewise seeing these challenges intensified by legislation that targets hotel operations, such as severe labor and licensing policies like the New York City City Safe Hotels Act. When need is falling and expenses are soaring, the mathematics merely doesn't include up." Wages, salaries and payroll-related expenditures paid by hotels now account for more than 32% of total profits, according to AHLA.

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As more hotel guests turn to artificial intelligence to enhance their travel experience, scheduling hotels directly through large language designs (LLMs) might be next, hospitality specialists stated. Agentic commerce a process by which self-governing AI representatives act on behalf of a customer to find, compare and complete purchases is a pattern that has actually accelerated throughout industries like retail.

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

"If you are not visible in an LLM search result which numerous 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 consumer experience platform Talkdesk, similarly informed Hotel Dive that hospitality players require to ensure their home info is being indexed by LLMs to appear in traveler inquiries.