Lodging Econometrics has reported that the Middle East's construction pipeline trend report shows the region's total pipeline has 561 projects and 154,627 guestrooms, up 13 percent by projects year-over-year.
There are 339 projects and 98,653 guestrooms under construction, up 20 percent by projects YOY. Those scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 125 projects and 32,116 guestrooms, up 21 percent. Meanwhile, projects in the early planning state are at 97 projects and 23,858 guestrooms are down 12 percent.
This recent data shows a major increase in projects since August 2017, which reported 308 projects and 57,011 guestrooms in the region's pipeline, a 5.4-percent rise since August 2016. In the construction phase, the region reported 98,027 guestrooms and 309 hotels, compared to the recent totals while that is a 17.2-percent increase YOY.
The top hotel companies in the Middle East’s construction pipeline are Marriott International with 94 projects and 22,641 guestrooms, Hilton Worldwide with 81 projects and 22,456 guestrooms and AccorHotels with 79 projects and 24,491 guestrooms. The largest brands in the pipeline for each of the these companies are Marriott’s Courtyard with 15 projects and 3,112 guestrooms, Hilton’s full-service hotel with 26 projects and 9,215 guestrooms and Accor’s Adagio City Aparthotel with 13 projects and 2,529 guestrooms.
The top countries in the Middle East construction pipeline are Saudi Arabia with 202 projects and 60,392 guestrooms, United Arab Emirates with 186 projects and 53,717 guestrooms and Qatar with 56 projects and 14,307 guestrooms. Cities in the Middle East with the largest pipelines are Dubai, UAE with 141 projects and 40,266 guestrooms, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with 58 projects and 11,364 guestrooms and Doha, Qatar with 52 projects and 12,680 guestrooms.
Since August, The UAE has remained in the lead with the largest pipeline, increasing by 35,050 guestrooms and 121 projects that month. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have also maintained a growing pipeline leading the totals in the region. Saudi Arabia had 40,020 guestrooms and 89 projects in August, though the numbers have increased since then. Meanwhile, Qatar, which also saw increased totals, had 9,627 guestrooms and 41 projects in August.