Hotel construction activity across the world has been witnessing a healthy growth and soared to an all-time high in the second quarter, with the U.S. and China leading the pipeline. Lodging Econometrics’ latest global construction pipeline trend report found that the total pipeline jumped 6% by projects YOY and 4% by rooms to reach a record of 15,453 projects with 2,395,726 rooms.
Across the world, there are 6,265 projects/1,115,989 rooms under construction, up 2% by projects and 1% by rooms YOY. Projects and rooms expected to begin construction in the next 12 months increased by 8% YOU to close the second quarter at 3,972 projects/545,764 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage continued to grow, up 10% in projects and a 6% increase in rooms, YOY totaling 5,216 projects/733,973 rooms.
The pipeline predominantly comprises upper midscale, upscale and the midscale chain scales, which accounted for 65% of the projects in the global pipeline. Of the 65%, upper midscale had the highest volume of projects (29%) with a record 4,540 projects and 585,688 rooms. Upscale projects and rooms also touched record-highs, with 3,688 projects/634,050 rooms, while midscale hotel projects rose 5% YOY to close the second quarter at 1,868 projects/186,592 rooms.
Luxury projects and room counts also reached record-high counts; a 13% YOY jump in projects and a 14% YOY increase in rooms, to stand at 1,066 projects/214,270 rooms.
Countries with the highest project volumes:
- The U.S.: 6,095 projects/713,151 rooms
- China: 3,815 projects/699,786 rooms
- India: 610 projects/75,280 rooms
- Canada: 322 projects/40,297 rooms
- Saudi Arabia: 320 projects/79,756 rooms
Projects in the U.S. constitutes 39% of the projects in the global pipeline, while China accounts for 25%, resulting in 64% of the global pipeline being concentrated within just two countries.
Cities with the largest pipelines:
- Dallas: 189 projects/22,392 rooms
- Atlanta: 159 projects/18,522 rooms
- Chengdu/China: 147 projects/26,951 rooms
- Shanghai, China: 126 projects/24,340 rooms
- Inland Empire, Calif.: 124 projects/12,569 rooms
Globally, 948 new hotels/135,579 rooms opened in the first six months of the year, with an additional 1,586 new hotels/237,107 rooms anticipated to open by the end of this year.
A total of 2,534 new hotels with 372,686 rooms are projected to open this year, the report said. With global pipeline projects at an all-time high, new hotel openings will continue to soar, with 2,756 new hotels/429,120 rooms likely to open in 2025. In 2026, 2,812 new hotels/430,355 rooms are expected to open globally.