Hotel operators shave hours per occupied room to defend margins as wages climb and revenue softens

Operators cut hours, hold margins despite higher pay — Actabl/HotelData report (Dec 12, 2025)

Hotels around the U.S. have quietly tightened the way they schedule and use labor, according to a new report from Actabl and HotelData released on Dec. 12, 2025. The study says many operators reduced the number of staff hours tied to each occupied room while lifting productivity in key departments. That effort has helped blunt the profit hit from rising wages and a backdrop of softer revenue per available room.

The headline is simple: hotels are working leaner shifts and getting more output from fewer paid hours. For owners and investors, it means margins have held up better than you might expect given payroll inflation and slower demand. For workers and guests, it signals tighter staffing and a sharper focus on doing more with less in areas such as housekeeping and food and beverage.

Figures that frame the change: the report’s main measurements

Actabl/HotelData’s release lays out several measures operators track. It compares labor cost as a share of revenue, changes in hours per occupied room, and department-level productivity shifts, and it flags wage growth and recent revenue softness. The report covers a broad slice of U.S. operators and chains through 2025; the press materials point readers to detailed tables inside the full study for exact sample sizes and period coverage.

Put plainly, the report shows two concurrent trends. First, payroll costs have continued to climb year over year as average hourly wages rise. Second, hotels have reduced hours logged per occupied room — a direct, measurable cut in how many paid hours go into servicing a single occupied room night. At the same time, department metrics suggest most of the reductions are being achieved through productivity gains rather than across‑the‑board layoffs.

Where the report gives color, it highlights housekeeping and food & beverage as the main sources of hours savings. Front desk and maintenance show smaller changes. Actabl/HotelData also notes a modest shortfall in revenue indicators like RevPAR and average daily rate in some markets, which pushed operators to squeeze costs more aggressively.

Why this matters for listed hotel companies and REITs

For public hotel owners and lodging REITs, the report is both reassuring and cautionary. The reassuring part: tighter scheduling and better productivity can offset some of the margin pressure from wage inflation. That should help near-term earnings hold up even when revenue growth cools.

The cautionary part: efficiency gains have limits. Operators that rely heavily on F&B, meetings and full-service amenities — think big city full-service brands and resort properties — have less room to cut without weakening the guest experience. Those operators are typically more exposed on the margin line than limited-service or economy brands, which can shrink backhouse hours more without visible service loss.

That distinction matters for investors. Large public firms such as Marriott International (MAR), Hilton Worldwide (HLT) and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) operate broad portfolios that mix full‑service and limited‑service assets. Gains from productivity can help these companies defend guidance, but any sustained revenue softness concentrated in group and corporate travel would hit margins even with leaner labor. Purely limited‑service owners and brands tend to be more insulated.

In short: the report supports a view that margins are resilient for now, but earnings remain sensitive to the balance between wage inflation and demand. If RevPAR weakness deepens, efficiency alone may not be enough to protect profits.

What operators are actually doing day to day

The report breaks down the tactics behind the headline numbers. Scheduling optimization — using historical occupancy and arrival patterns to avoid overstaffing — is widespread. Cross‑training allows a smaller pool of workers to handle multiple tasks during a shift. Hotels are also deploying more software tools that help plan housekeeping runs and streamline F&B ordering and prep.

Department by department, housekeeping has seen bundled room assignments and faster turnaround standards. F&B teams are trimming service points, simplifying menus and leaning more on pre‑prepared items during slow periods. Front desks are using mobile check‑ins and automated messaging to reduce repetitive tasks. The report warns, though, that high turnover and continued wage competition make sustained productivity gains harder over time.

What investors should watch next

Investors tracking these trends should focus on a few near‑term items. Watch upcoming quarterly earnings calls for management commentary on labor hours versus wages and for any changes to margin guidance. Track RevPAR and ADR prints for the same markets the Actabl/HotelData study highlights. Pay attention to public filings from major operators and REITs for department‑level labor trends — some now disclose housekeeping hours and F&B metrics.

Finally, look out for follow‑up Actabl releases and industry labor reports that confirm whether the productivity gains were one‑time moves or sustainable shifts in operations. If operators keep driving hours per occupied room lower without hurting guest metrics, that’s a positive for profit resilience. If revenue weakness accelerates, even smarter scheduling won’t be enough to stop margin pressure.

Sources

• prnewswire.com