The hospitality Industry is an industry that touches the lives of almost every single person on earth in some way or the other. In this post, we present a few astonishing facts about the hospitality industry.
If you are from the industry, we are sure that you would be able to connect with these interesting and astonishing facts.
This article is intended to bring back some good memories for all the hospitality professionals or hoteliers who have been indispensable parts of the industry. For everyone else, this article throws some light on what makes the hospitality industry so special.
But, before you do so, let’s begin with a list of 25 interesting facts about the hospitality industry. We are sure that these astonishing facts will provide you with a lot of information about the hotel industry and about the hospitality and tourism industry on the whole.
Astonishing and Interesting Facts about the Hospitality Industry
We present here a few astonishing facts about the hospitality industry.
The hotel experience is all about relaxing, having fun, getting pampered and resting; especially if you are travelling for the purpose of tourism or a plain vacation.
The hospitality industry has many surprising facts and statistics to offer to those who are interested in trivia about hotels and the hospitality industry on the whole.
The information and statistics are dynamic and the figures and details are true to our best understanding and knowledge at the time of compilation.
1. Tallest hotels in a city- The winner is Dubai
6 out of the top 10 tallest hotel in the world exists in one city. Yes, you guessed that right. Dubai has over half of the top 10 tallest hotels in the world.
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai has been the world’s tallest hotel having 76 stories for a long time. It has been overtaken by Gevora Hotel Dubai which was built in 2017.
This twin tower standing tall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is 355 metres tall.
Image Courtesy- Marriott
2. The Most expensive Hotel room in the world
The Royal Penthouse suite of Hotel President Wilson in Geneva is considered to be the most expensive hotel room in the world.
The average price per night for this room is a whopping amount of approximately $61,000- $84,000.
Image Courtesy- Hotel President Wilson
3. The Oldest Hotel in the world
Koshu Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Japan is named the oldest hotel in the world.
Another amazing hospitality fact is that it is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The hotel is over 1300 years old. The ownership is held by the same family for over 50 generations.
While this is an interesting hotel industry fact, you would be amazed to know that hospitality can be traced back to prehistoric times.
Another interesting hospitality industry fact is that thermal baths that led to the origin of the spa were introduced by the Greeks around 40 BC.
Historical background of hospitality industry reveals more hospitality facts buried deep into the ages.
4. Worldwide Hospitality Industry Worth – Approx. $10 Trillion or maybe even more.
A lot of people confuse the Hospitality industry with the Hotel Industry.
The hotel industry is just a part of the hospitality industry.
Tourism, Aviation, Restaurant and Food services, Casinos etc. come under the Hospitality Industry Umbrella.
Travel and Tourism alone contributed over 7.6 Trillion USD in 2016. The unofficial figure should have easily gone beyond $10 trillion in 2019 before the Covid pandemic led to the slide. This is when other sub-industries are combined.
The global hotel market alone is generating revenue worth over $850 billion approximately. This is set to get closer to the Trillion mark in 2023 and go over the Trillion Mark in 2024.
According to hotel industry statistics, the revenue of the global hotel industry is increasing day by day.
The astonishing growth rate is considered as one of the 10 astonishing facts of the hospitality and tourism industry.
5. The Hotel of Ice Balea Lac in Romania gets built up by ice every year
Yes, it’s true. This Ice Hotel is built every year and can be reached only by cable car.
Ice Hotel in Romania has a Snow bar, A Church made of ice and an ice restaurant.
Isn’t it amazing? This hotel features on almost all lists of amazing Ice Hotels.
There are various ice hotels to amaze us. The below video of Ice Hotel from Canada is one such amazing hotel that is built from ice. And we mean lots of ice and you need to sleep in -10 degrees. Astonishing isn’t it? Here’s the video for you.
6. The world’s largest swimming pool can hold 66 million gallons of water
Now, this is how amazing the Hospitality Industry can be. Have you seen a swimming pool that can hold 66 million gallons of water?
It is located in Chile in San Alfonso del Mar Resort.
That’s huge. Well, enough said, here’s the picture that will speak volumes about the Pool which is 20 times the Olympic-sized swimming pool.
7. How many people travelled in 2023? – Almost 1300 Million
Now another amazing fact about the tourism industry. According to the reports from the World Tourism Organization, international tourist arrivals grew by over 80% in the first quarter of 2023 to the same period in 2022. The number touched a peak of $1340 Million by the end of 2019.
Isn’t it a staggering number and this is set to keep growing in 2024 after the biggest fall in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic?
Does this make the hospitality industry, one of the most prosperous industries of today? We leave this for you to decide.
8. Is the Hospitality and travel industry, the biggest employer in the world?
As per reports, 1 in 8 US jobs is in the Travel industry. It is expected that within 5 years 1 out of 10 people on the planet would be employed by the Hospitality Industry.
Amazing isn’t it?
9. Haunted Hotels and Ghost hunting is getting more popular
Isn’t it an amazing fact that there are hotels within the hospitality industry, that are popular not because they are great lodging and accommodation destinations but more so because they are spooky and scary at times?
A lot of these hotels belong to top hotel brands.
A lot of Top Haunted Hotels in the world include Ghost hunting in their packages as well while a few don’t claim the spookiness they have owned in the past. Interesting isn’t it?
10. Is the Hospitality Industry the most Female-friendly industry?
As per the International Labor Office estimates, 55% of the Global Hotel workforce are women.
When the work is speaking about fair workplace regulations, the hospitality industry has looked fair for decades now.
One of our other articles speaks volumes about the current Top Women Leaders of Hospitality & Travel Industry.
11. The Largest Cruise line in the world is 362 metres in length
Harmony of the Seas by Royal Caribbean International can accommodate 6800 guests.
The virtual balcony makes this ship even more special.
over 360 metres in length and the number of guests it can accommodate makes it one of the biggest amazements of the hospitality industry.
12. The Hospitality Industry is now hiring Robots
Yes, this is one of the interesting facts about the Hospitality Industry. Robotics and artificial intelligence are very much a part of this industry now.
Although, these are just for the trial Hospitality industry is using Robots as Bellhops, Butlers, Receptionists and Pizza makers.
Robot as a receptionist in Japanese Hotel and Pizza Making Robots are examples of the new interesting trend that is soon to expand all over the Hospitality Industry.
13. Space Tourism is set to gain more pace now and should be worth Billions by 2024
Dennis Tito was the first Space tourist back in 2001 and according to Daily Express, he paid a whopping $20 Mn to make a trip to the international space station.
As of date, less than 600 people have travelled to space (as per definition, anyone able to travel beyond 62 miles above Earth would be considered to have travelled to space).
However, companies like Virgin Galactic and Space X are set to launch Space Travel which would be open to all.
Isn’t that an amazing hospitality industry fact?
14. The World’s Largest Hotel
Malaysia takes the cake for hosting the largest hotel in the world.
First World Hotel Malaysia is said to have around 7,351 rooms. The rooms are priced between $12 to $83 on average.
Image Courtesy- Wikipedia
As an update to this hospitality industry fact, the largest hotel tag would soon be taken away from this Malaysian hotel.
Abraj Kudai Hotel in Saudi Arabia will be opening soon and that will have around 10,000 rooms and over 70 restaurants.
15. Total number of hotel rooms in the world
The total number of rooms worldwide is expected to be around 15.5 million as per the Intercontinental Hotel’s group report.
The number has soared as of date. According to STR Global, the number of hotel rooms is over 18.5 million as of date and is expected to breach the 20 million mark soon.
Amazing isn’t it?
16. The city with the Highest Average Room Rate
Many would believe that New York City; the city so nice, that they named it twice, would take the trophy for this one.
However, the city that has the highest average rate is the city of Geneva in Switzerland. A room can cost almost $308 on average per night. Phew!
17. The most visited country in the world
France is the most visited country in the world. It attracts more than 80 million visitors annually. This might not be surprising given the presence of the scenic Alps, French cuisine, lovely destinations, best wines and eloquent people.
Europe and Asia Pacific regions are the key regions that attract the attention of tourists each year and get the highest sales by tourism.
They have the most expensive accommodations, best-looking places, and a friendly environment.
18. Priciest Rooms in the US
The Ritz-Carlton Central Park and Mandarin Oriental share a tie for the priciest room in the US.
The rooms are expensive beginning from $995 per night.
You have to pay if you want to enjoy the luxury offered by these biggies of the hotel industry.
19. US Hotel Industry Revenue
The hotel industry in the US is bringing in a healthy revenue of over $218 billion in 2018.
After the lull of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is expected to rise even further in 2023 and beyond.
Apparently, Americans are spending huge amounts of money on hotel and motel rooms on an annual basis.
The story is pretty similar across the globe with the revenues of the hotel industry improving every year.
An Overview of the Hotel Industry helps us understand how and why the Hotel industry is becoming an indispensable part of the hospitality industry.
20. Cruise Ship numbers and destination
There are approximately 300 Cruise ships sailing which can accommodate over 300,000 guests daily.
More and more hospitality professionals are finding the Cruise ship job options interesting and satisfying.
The Caribbean has been the most popular Cruise destination over the years.
21. Most interesting Cruise ship in the world
‘The World’ is one of the most interesting cruise ships. The travellers are permanent residents and the ship has been on a voyage since 2002. The crew and residents had to vacate the ship in 2020 due to Covid concerns. The voyage has continued again towards the end of 2021.
22. Hotel Managing as an exciting career option
There is a reason why hotel management is becoming a favourable career option.
They are believed to earn a whopping $57,250 approximately on average.
It is expected that by 2024/2025, 1 out of 10 people will be employed in the hospitality and travel industry.
23. Men and Women ratio in the hospitality industry
This is one of the key facts about the hospitality industry.
You would be surprised to know that the hospitality industry has more women working for them than men.
24. Business or Pleasure– Pleasure outnumbers business trips
Statistics show that as compared to business trips, there are more rooms booked for the purpose of travelling and vacationing. This is not surprising though.
We all prefer travel to business. Don’t we?
25. This is the Costliest Room Service
This is again one of the astonishing facts about the hospitality industry. The most costly room service is found in Las Vegas.
You should be prepared to pay a tab worth $68 if you ever plan to stay in a hotel there.
Las Vegas is closely followed by New York City in this matter. The average tab in NYC is about $67.
Conclusion
Here you go, a few of the amazingly interesting facts about the Hospitality Industry.
Hope you enjoyed the compilation of the facts about the hospitality industry, your very own industry.
The hospitality is filled with facts that would fill you with amazement and awe. A lot of other posts on this portal ensure that you get all the hospitality-related information in one place.
The Hospitality industry is changing. Riding high on the human and technology support.
We tried to display how the travel industry is getting more and more interesting through these 25 points.
