Analyzing Fast Casual Sector Growth Data for 2026

, hospitality industry leaders are looking toward 2026 with mindful optimism. Increasing operational costs are slated to challenge owners this year and lower-tier sections could struggle in the middle of a growing wealth bifurcation.

And through it all, hotel companies are anticipated to fortify their portfolios with brand-new brand offerings and collaborations. As the year gets underway, Hotel Dive talked with hospitality leaders from differing corners of the market about their 2026 predictions. Below are the leading patterns expected to impact hotel operations, efficiency, net system growth and more this year.

Total salaries, incomes and advantages paid by U.S. hotels increased to $127 billion in 2025, according to information from the American Hotel & Accommodations Association, shared with Hotel Dive. In 2026, that figure is predicted to climb to $131 billion, representing an approximately 3% year-over-year boost, per AHLA. For hotel owners, increasing labor expenses pose an obstacle to net operating income development, Kevin Davis, Americas CEO at JLL Hotels & Hospitality, told Hotel Dive.

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"It is an outright issue." Increasing labor expenses have actually been a challenge for hoteliers for many 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 overall operating earnings, according to AHLA. In current years, countless union hotel workers have gone on strike requiring greater salaries in order to stay up to date with the increasing cost of living in locations such as California, Hawaii and Las Vegas.

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

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

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As more hotel visitors turn to expert system to boost their travel experience, scheduling hotels directly through large language models (LLMs) might be next, hospitality specialists said. Agentic commerce a procedure by which autonomous AI agents act on behalf of a customer to find, compare and complete purchases is a pattern that has accelerated throughout markets like retail.

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According to PwC's 2025 Holiday Outlook report, 76% of millennials said they're most likely to utilize AI for travel recommendations. 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 business will "embed LLMs into their own brand name websites and mobile apps, and change the way the consumer searches," Kletzel said.

"If you are not discoverable in an LLM search engine result which numerous brand names aren't, and this is the huge 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, likewise informed Hotel Dive that hospitality players require to ensure their home details is being indexed by LLMs to appear in tourist inquiries.