Lodging Econometrics Finds Sustained Hotel Development

Lodging Econometrics, Portsmouth, N.H., reported there are 6,020 hotel projects with 705,825 rooms in the pipeline, reflecting sustained development activity across the country.

The firm’s Q1 2026 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report said there are 1,071 projects comprising 132,016 rooms currently under construction. Another 2,164 projects with 249,465 rooms are scheduled to start construction within the next 12 months. Projects in the early planning stage stand at 2,785 projects and 324,344 rooms.

Looked at by segment, luxury hotel properties achieved a record-high project count in the first quarter, reaching 102 projects with 25,527 rooms, up 16% by projects and 23% by rooms year-over-year. The top three chain scales (upscale, upper-midscale, and midscale) account for 75% of the projects in the total U.S. construction pipeline, “and each is expected to post its highest new hotel opening total since 2022,” the report noted.

Lodging Econometrics said hotel conversions remain strong, standing at 1,461 projects and 141,971 rooms–up 3% by projects and 4% by rooms year-over-year–while combined conversion and renovation activity reached 2,041 projects and 258,665 rooms.

The report said 126 new hotels totaling 14,614 rooms opened in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2026. Lodging Econometrics forecasts another 556 projects with 62,709 rooms to open during the remaining three quarters of 2026, resulting in a total of 682 new hotels with 77,323 rooms by year-end and representing a 1.4% increase in new hotel supply.

Looking ahead to 2027, Lodging Econometrics said it anticipates 750 new hotels with 81,199 rooms to open in the U.S., for an additional 1.4% supply increase.