Asheville Hospitality Recovery Mixed; Lodging Sales Drop 23%, Jobs Down 7%

Asheville’s tourism rebound remained uneven, county tourism officials told commissioners, with lodging revenue and hospitality employment lagging despite steady visitor interest. Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, called 2025 a "mixed bag" when presenting data to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on January 27, 2026.

Isley cited BCTDA and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showing a 23% decline in lodging sales for fiscal year 2025. Leisure and hospitality employment in the Asheville metro fell to 25,800 jobs in September 2025, a drop of over 7% year-over-year. Those shortfalls persisted even as some sectors, notably education services, recorded growth during the year.

The immediate local impact is concrete. Lower lodging sales translate into reduced occupancy tax revenues that fund marketing, event support and tourism infrastructure. Fewer hospitality jobs mean thinner staffing at hotels, restaurants and event operations, complicating service for visitors and creating income stress for workers who depend on hourly wages and tips. Isley told commissioners that state disaster unemployment assistance and other supports provided temporary relief in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, but those measures do not substitute for sustained workforce recovery.

Officials framed the weakness as structural as well as cyclical. Visitor counts and large events continued to draw people to the region, but lodging receipts and payrolls did not recover to pre-storm levels throughout 2025. That gap points to a labor market mismatch: businesses reporting demand while struggling to hire or retain workers, and households still coping with storm-related displacement and economic disruption.

For local policymakers the numbers create trade-offs. Reduced lodging tax receipts could force tighter budgets for tourism promotion at a time when marketing and event attraction are key to recovery. County leaders will weigh whether to target funds toward workforce supports, housing and childcare solutions that help hospitality employers hire, or to boost short-term stimulus for marketing and events that can lift occupancy quickly.

For residents dependent on the tourism economy, the shortfall underscores ongoing uncertainty. Employers and workers in the service sector face slower hiring and continued volatility in hours and income. For small-business owners and local government, the data point to a need for policies that address labor supply and disaster resilience alongside visitor promotion.

The board will continue monitoring BCTDA and BLS indicators as it shapes budget and recovery priorities for 2026, balancing immediate relief measures with longer-term investments to stabilize jobs and restore lodging revenues.