Lodging Econometrics: Hotel Construction Pipeline Up 3% YoY

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The hotel construction pipeline grew 3% from a year ago and projects in the early planning stage increased by 14%, according to Lodging Econometrics, Portsmouth, N.H.

The research firm’s new U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report calculated 6,280 hotel projects in all three stages of the pipeline.

There were 1,120 projects comprising 138,776 rooms under construction at the close of the second quarter, the report said. Projects slated to start construction anytime within the next 12 months totaled 2,263 properties totaling 260,052 rooms. “Both projects and rooms in the ‘under construction’ and ‘scheduled to start in the next 12 months’ stages of the pipeline are down slightly year over year…However, projects and room counts in the early planning stage increased by 13% and 14% year over year, respectively, ending the quarter at 2,897 projects and 338,208 rooms.”

LE analysts reported extended-stay hotel brands remain popular with developers, accounting for 38% of the projects under construction, 43% of projects scheduled to begin within the next 12 months, and 37% of projects in the early planning stage.

Middle tier extended-stay brands lead the segment with 1,625 projects/152,557 rooms, showing a 6% increase in projects and 5% increase in rooms year over year. Upper-tier extended-stay brands account for 670 projects/79,103 rooms, while lower tier brands comprise 178 projects/20,368 rooms.

The report said 329 new hotels with 39,628 rooms opened in the U.S. during the first and second quarters of 2025. New project announcements totaled 237 projects with 27,101 rooms in the second quarter. Construction starts reached 155 projects/17,169 rooms.

The Lodging Econometrics forecast for the rest of 2025 includes the opening of another 406 hotel properties with 45,160 rooms. The year-end forecast represents a 25% increase over the total number of hotel openings in 2024.