LE: LatAm construction pipeline up YOY in project, room counts

Lodging Econometrics' Q3 2024 Latin America Construction Pipeline Trend report suggests growth for the region's hospitality industry. The pipeline currently stands at 642 projects and 104,513 rooms, representing year-over-year increases of 11 percent in project count and 10 percent in room count.

Digging deeper into the pipeline data, LE's report highlights several positive indicators. At the close of Q3 2024, Latin America had 269 projects with 47,151 rooms under construction, reflecting a 10 percent year-over-year rise in both metrics. Additionally, the number of projects scheduled to start construction within the next 12 months grew to 183 projects and 30,184 rooms, up 7 percent by project count and 9 percent by room count YoY. Even the early planning pipeline expanded, increasing 17 percent YoY to 190 projects and 11 percent year over year to 27,178 rooms.

The report also provides insights into the regional hotel pipeline by chain scale segment. The upscale (134 hotels and 18,592 rooms), luxury (121 hotels and 24,924 rooms and upper-upscale (104 hotels and 21,300 rooms) chain scales emerged with the largest pipelines. 

Top Markets

Geographically, Mexico (229 hotels and 35,975 rooms) and Brazil (103 hotels and 15,731 rooms) accounted for a significant 52 percent of the total project count and 50 percent of the room count. The Dominican Republic followed with an all-time high of 59 hotels and 14,407 rooms, then Colombia with 27 hotels and 3,671 rooms.

The cities with the largest pipelines included Mexico City (23 hotels and 2,761 rooms), Georgetown (13 hotels and 1,800 rooms), Sao Paulo (12 hotels and 2,559 rooms), Lima (12 hotels and 1,914 rooms), and Riviera Maya (12 hotels and 1,421 rooms).

During Q3 2024, the Latin American pipeline experienced 50 new project announcements totaling 9,775 rooms, while 27 projects commenced construction. Looking at completed projects, the region saw 49 new hotel openings comprising 9,688 rooms through the third quarter. LE forecasts an additional 42 new hotels with 5,661 rooms to open in Q4 2024, bringing the total for the year to 91 new hotels and 15,349 rooms.

Looking ahead, LE's projections point to a sustained growth trajectory, with 108 new hotels and 19,551 rooms forecast to open in 2025, followed by a further increase to 138 new hotels and 19,513 rooms in 2026.