U.S. travel companies are sharing higher fourth-quarter revenue growth projections as budget-conscious Americans once again began booking their vacations in July.
While summer is typically a busy travel season across much of the globe, the United States is the only country where that isn’t true this year, with the industry facing declines across the board in hotel revenue, domestic air passenger demand and, especially, international travel.
American consumer confidence also dropped to record lows this year, but July seemed to bring back optimism for U.S. travel companies.
According to Reuters, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Hilton and Wyndham all saw higher bookings in July and expect stronger fourth-quarter revenue growth than before.
During the beginning of the year, when economic uncertainty was at its height, many of these companies chose to forgo issuing a full-year financial prediction at all, tempered by the Trump Administration’s trade war and international travelers’ cooling desires to visit the U.S.
While Southwest’s financials are below 2024 levels, it noted in its second-quarter earnings report that it believes that air travel demand has leveled. While United showed declines due to the Newark flight incidents, it also remained optimistic for the rest of the year, noting that budget-conscious travelers are once again booking flights.
“The world is less uncertain today than it was during the first six months of 2025 and that gives us confidence about a strong finish to the year,” said United CEO Scott Kirby.
The airlines offering premium experiences, such as Delta, all cite these premium offerings as major reasons for their second-quarter financial success.
Hotel giant Hilton projected the same confidence for the rest of the year, noting in its second-quarter financial report that while RevPAR was down, it raised its full-year profit forecast due to the United States’ current, and less chaotic, economic status.
There are still some warning signs, however. While American travelers are bouncing back, key markets for the United States, including Canada, parts of Europe and Southeast Asia are all reporting declines as travelers cite fear of being detained, gun violence or distrust of the current presidential administration as main reasons why they won’t be visiting this year.
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