'Representing the culture around us': North Carolina sees increase in hospitality job employment and revenue

North Carolina’s hospitality industry is experiencing a post-pandemic resurgence, with an increase of roughly 200,000 employees since 2020, according to the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Restaurants are the leading source of revenue for the industry, comprising over $2 million in contributions, with hotels contributing over $500,000 and taverns over $100,000.

In the association’s December 2024 report, restaurant sales increased by 6.92 percent while hotel revenues declined by 1.97 percent — these trends suggest that the industry is navigating a complex landscape of rising costs and evolving customer behaviors.

Heidi Werner Dawson, director of sales and marketing at the Carolina Inn, said there has been growth in the hotel industry in the Triangle area. She said the area has a lot of transient business and much of the tourism is tied to the university, with sports events and weddings being some of the major contributors. 

“The last couple of years, we’ve seen the re-emergence of companies and corporations wanting to meet again to have conferences,” Dawson said. 

Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of Visit Chapel Hill, said there was a 13 percent increase in total revenue for the hotel industry at the start of 2025. However, she said there has been a shift in the conference sector due to the rise of virtual meetings. 

Short-term bookings have also emerged as a new norm, she said, complicating budgeting for hotels.

“We used to have a long-term booking window, and we don’t anymore,” Paolicelli said. “It makes it very hard to budget for maybe nothing too much going on in July, and then all of a sudden, I'll get a call saying we need to take over two hotels and we're bringing 15,000 people in.”

Dawson said many hotels are relocating to smaller spaces, including urban areas, which are competing for business. Because of the competition, she said hotels are more limited in what they are able to incorporate into their business to differentiate themselves from other hotels. 

Additionally, Dawson said the oversaturation of the market has made it harder to maintain competitive wages for hospitality workers.

Gaëlle Laforest, the general manager at Ajja, a Mediterranean restaurant in Raleigh, said Ajja has taken steps to professionalize roles by offering a shared tip pool and wages above the minimum wage. 

The Carolina Inn has made diversity and inclusion a central part of its workforce strategy, aiming to create an environment where everyone feels welcome, Dawson said. She said the hotel's efforts to prioritize its employees are reflected in the average length of employment, which ranges from five to eight years — much higher than the hospitality industry's average of about 18 months. 

“I always say it’s about the people,” Dawson said. “Without the people, you can’t make the business run.”

Laforest said there are issues with making hospitality careers as attractive as other industries, so they attempt to offset the challenges by providing benefits and prioritizing mental health support for employees.

There has also been a significant impact from increasing prices on everything ranging from seafood to disposable takeout boxes, she said.

“Food costs are rising, and we’ve only touched the surface on the new tariffs that are coming into play [which], no doubt, will have more of an effect on us, and we're kind of going to have to wait and see,” Laforest said. 

Dawson said the surge in competition has made it difficult for hotels to pass on these increased costs to consumers without risking a drop in business.

To navigate these challenges, businesses are investing in technology and sustainable practices. Laforest said Ajja has adopted portable handheld devices for its point-of-sale system, which improves service efficiency by allowing staff to place orders tableside. 

Similarly, Dawson said the Carolina Inn has embraced green initiatives to adapt to shifting consumer expectations.

“Our overwhelming goal right now is we want to make sure that we are representing the culture around us,” she said.

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