New York City, Phoenix Lead Hotel Construction Pipeline

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New York City and Phoenix are set to open the most hotel rooms in 2026, according to new construction pipeline data from CoStar, Arlington, Va.

The research firm said the top markets by projected 2026 room openings include:
• New York City (4,852 rooms)

• Phoenix (3,650 rooms)

• Dallas (3,558 rooms)

• Orlando (1,988 rooms) and

• Miami (1,954 rooms)

“For a second consecutive year, New York City leads the nation in expected new-build openings,” noted Isaac Collazo, senior director of analytics at CoStar subsidiary STR. “This shouldn’t be a surprise given that the market has also led the country in occupancy for the last three years.”

But Collazo noted that both room supply and room demand are lower today than they were in 2019 before the pandemic, “showing there is still opportunity for further growth.”

Last year there 749 hotels with 79,116 rooms opened nationwide, CoStar said. The firm projects 891 hotels with 99,011 rooms will open this year and 1,688 hotels totaling 191,926 rooms will open in 2027.

“While U.S. hotel development has been slow, there is still optimism around the industry based on the record number of projects in the pipeline,” Collazo said.  “It’s not surprising that 2025 saw the largest number of new openings since 2021, and 2026 openings are expected to be back to the pre-pandemic level.”