As the hospitality industry continues to boom, with the U.S. market currently valued at a staggering $93.07 billion, new data reveals which states have the highest earning hotel businesses. HotelTechReport analyzed industry data for each U.S. state, finding that Hawaii hotels make the most revenue overall, with each business raking in $25,811,058 on average per year. In Hawaii, there are just 277 hotel businesses, in comparison to California which has 11 times more.

Despite having the fewest hotels out of all 50 states, the District of Columbia takes second place when it comes to annual revenue, with each business earning $21,617,731 per year on average.  

New York takes third place for total revenue, however, due to the high number of hotel businesses in the state (2,314), each individual business earns three times less revenue ($6,259,171)  than those in Hawaii or Washington, D.C. 

Florida and Massachusetts take the next two spots, with businesses in these states making similar amounts of revenue. However, when considering the number of hotel businesses in relation to the number of total businesses in the states, Florida has much more (0.41% compared to 0.28%).  

California hotel businesses make just over $5 million in revenue, with this state employing the most hotel staff. More than a quarter million people (228,964) currently work for hotel businesses in California. Compare that to Delaware, which has the lowest number, with 4,023 hotel employees overall.  

Each hotel business in Illinois, Nevada, and Arizona is generating over $4 million per year in revenue, while those in Maryland each generate $3,875,148 on average.

Hotels in Mississippi make the least revenue annually, with each business making $1,067,190. Interestingly, this state has a higher proportion of hotel businesses than any other state in the top 10, accounting for .88 percent of all total businesses.

North Dakota has the second lowest number of hotel staff overall, with just 5,267 people working for the 306 hotel businesses in the state. In proportion to the total number of businesses, however, the percentage of hotels is fairly high (0.92 percent) when compared to Massachusetts, which has the lowest proportion (0.28 percent).  

A spokesperson from HotelTechReport commented on the findings: “As the U.S. hotel market continues to skyrocket, it’s interesting to see the industry’s footprint in each state, and the differences across the country, from revenue through to number of employees. Hawaii is a very popular destination with some of the world’s most luxurious resorts, so it’s fascinating to see the financial impact of the hotels in the state, which is even more impressive when compared to other major tourist destinations like New York and Florida.”

The study was conducted by HotelTechReport, a site that allows users to review, compare and evaluate top hotel management software providers.

The Full Breakdown

  • Wyoming is the state with the highest number of hotel businesses as a percentage of total businesses, with 1.33 percent.
  • Massachusetts (0.28 percent), Connecticut (0.28 percent), and Rhode Island (0.32 percent) are the states with the lowest number of hotel businesses as a percentage of total businesses.
  • Alongside California, Florida (179,522) and Texas (125,553) have the most hotel employees.
  • Washington, D.C. (119), Rhode Island (143), and Delaware (181) have the fewest number of hotel businesses.