LE: 5 companies make up 50% of Europe's hotel pipeline

According to the year-end 2022 "Europe Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report" from Lodging Econometrics, at the close of the fourth quarter, Europe’s total construction pipeline stands at 1,711 hotels and 260,911 rooms.

At the Q4 close, there are 784 hotels and 123,377 rooms under construction, 403 hotels and 60,724 rooms scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months, and projects in the early planning stage reached a record-high count of 524 projects, accounting for 76,810 rooms.

Despite slowed economic growth throughout the region in 2022, Europe remains the most popular tourist destination in the world, with six of the top 10 most visited international tourist destinations located in the region. Travel activity in Europe is expected to continue to rebound in 2023 and as hotel operating performance increases, owners, investors and franchise companies will continue to focus on development efforts in the region.

Top Markets

Countries in Europe with the most projects in the construction pipeline at the Q4 close are led by the United Kingdom with 295 hotels and 43,332 rooms, Germany with 257 hotels and 43,952 rooms, France with 152 hotels and 17,267 rooms, Portugal with 130 hotels and 15,353 rooms and Turkey with record-highs of 92 projects and 14,521 rooms, before the Feb. 6 earthquake.

The cities with the largest pipelines are London with 75 hotels and 12,850 rooms; Istanbul with record project and room counts of 42 hotels and 7,997 rooms, again, before the earthquake; Dusseldorf, Germany, with 42 hotels and 7,817 rooms; Lisbon with 35 hotels and 3,878 rooms; and Paris with 31 hotels and 5,174 rooms.

Top Companies, Top Brands

Europe’s top hotel companies in the construction pipeline are led by Accor with 286 hotels and 37,617 rooms and Hilton with 195 hotels and 28,984 rooms. Next is Marriott International with 185 hotels and 28,854 rooms, IHG Hotels & Resorts with 153 hotels and 20,497 rooms and Radisson Hotel Group with 45 hotels and 8,037 rooms. These five companies are responsible for 50 percent of the projects and 48 percent of the rooms in the region’s total pipeline.

The leading brands for new development in Europe are Accor’s Ibis brands with 99 hotels and 11,652 rooms and Mercure Hotel, with 30 hotels and 3,061 rooms. Hilton’s top brands in Europe are led by the Hampton by Hilton brands with 74 hotels and 10,762 rooms and Hilton Garden Inn, with 41 hotels and 6,267 rooms. Marriott International’s top brands are Moxy with 41 hotels and 6,693 rooms and the Autograph Collection with 21 hotels and 3,035 rooms. IHG’s top brands at the Q4 close include Holiday Inn Express with 58 hotels and 8,019 rooms and Holiday Inn with 19 hotels and 3,180 rooms.

Through the fourth quarter of 2022, 373 new hotels with 55,647 rooms opened in Europe. New project announcements have increased substantially over the last three quarters, suggesting there will be more new hotel openings in the region, compared to 2022, in the years ahead. The LE forecast for new hotel openings expects 424 new hotels to open, accounting for 61,534 rooms in 2023 and 396 new hotels with 55,280 rooms to open in 2024.