Travel industry pay data highlights a split within the sector, with technology-first brands offering a markedly higher median salary than their legacy peers.
In its Travel Tech Salary Guide 2026, travel and hospitality tech recruitment specialist Travel Tech Talent pointed to the 2026 U.S. Department of Labor filings, which show a discrepancy between equivalent software development roles.
“The U.S. sector is two-tier: tech-first travel companies including Airbnb, Navan and Priceline pay 25 to 35% more than hospitality groups for equivalent engineering roles,” Travel Tech Talent said in the report.
The company's analysis revealed that tech-first travel companies are paying engineers median base salaries between $193,000 and $205,000. Meanwhile, hospitality groups offer median base salaries ranging from approximately $149,000 to $161,000 for equivalent roles.
Both tiers, however, are higher than the U.S. national median for software developers, which sits at $135,980, per the May 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
For tech-first employers, Priceline pays a median base salary of $204,583, Navan pays $195,000 and Airbnb pays $193,000. For hospitality groups, Marriott pays $161,278, Hilton pays $151,269 and Choice Hotels pays $148,610, according to data provided to PhocusWire.
Expedia’s median salary for software development roles was $149,240. According to Travel Tech Talent, the online travel giant has the largest filing population, at 148, which "pulls its figure toward the volume of mid-level roles."
The Travel Tech Salary Guide is released annually as a benchmark of base pay across travel and technology in the U.S. and the U.K. It looks at roles ranging from mid-level individual contributor roles to functional leadership in areas including product, data, sales, marketing and more.
The salary ranges in the guide are triangulated from the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2025 provisional), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and salary disclosures filed to the U.S. Department of Labor. The are combined with Travel Tech Talent's data spanning U.K. and U.S. travel technology.