According to Lodging Econometrics’ Q2 2026 United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report, Dallas; Atlanta; Nashville; Austin, Texas; and Phoenix continue to dominate the market rankings. Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville and Phoenix have all remained in the top five markets for the second quarter for the past three years.
The national pipeline, under-construction totals and 12-month start counts are all lower than the same quarter last year. However, early planning remains above 2024 levels, luxury and upper-upscale pipelines are hitting records, and conversion activity is setting new highs, suggesting the development story is shifting from broad-based expansion to more selective, capital-conscious growth.
Top Pipelines
As of the end of the quarter, Dallas was the largest hotel construction pipelines with 183 projects and 22,840 rooms. Atlanta follows with 157 hotels and 17,423 rooms, then Nashville with 122 hotels and 16,281 rooms. Austin, Texas, is next 116 hotels and 13,875 rooms, and Phoenix with 115 hotels and 16,136 rooms.
Additional markets reaching record-high project and room pipeline totals at Q2 include Indianapolis with 76 hotels and 8,557 rooms; Tampa, Fla., with 61 hotels and 8,370 rooms, St. Louis with 59 hotels and 6,373 rooms, and Oahu Island with 11 hotels and 2,850 rooms.
Notably, Dallas’ total pipeline fell from 199 hotels with 24,497 rooms in Q2 2025 to 183 hotels with 22,840 rooms in Q2 2026, a decline of about 8 percent in projects and 7 percent in rooms. Compared with Q2 2024, Dallas is slightly down in projects but still up in rooms.
Construction Stages
As of the end of Q2, five U.S. markets stand out for their active under-construction hotel projects. Dallas leads with 38 projects totaling 4,184 rooms, followed by Phoenix with 31 projects and 4,621 rooms. New York is third with 29 projects comprising 5,811 rooms, while Atlanta and Indianapolis tie with 22 projects each; Atlanta accounts for 3,020 rooms, while Indianapolis has 2,311 rooms.
At Q2, Dallas, with 68 hotels and 7,885 rooms, has the most projects scheduled to start in the next 12 months. Following Dallas are Atlanta with 61 hotels and 6,761 rooms, Austin with 59 hotels and 6,542 rooms, Nashville with 49 hotels and 6,623 rooms, and the Inland Empire with 43 hotels and 4,545 rooms.
Dallas tops the list of markets with the most hotel projects in the early planning stage at Q2 with 77 projects and 10,771 rooms. Atlanta follows with 74 projects and 8,351 rooms, while Inland Empire and Orlando tie with 54 projects each; Inland Empire accounts for 12,587 rooms and Orlando for 5,474 rooms. Nashville rounds out the top five with 53 projects and 7,023 rooms.
New York, with 11 hotels and 2,296 rooms, has the largest number of new project announcements (NPAs) into the pipeline at Q2. Tampa follows with 9 hotels and 902 rooms, then Phoenix with 8 hotels and 1,641 rooms, Orlando with 8 hotels and 1,292 rooms, and Nashville with 7 hotels and 844 rooms.
LE recorded a combined U.S. renovation and conversion total led by Houston with 35 hotels and 4,841 rooms, followed by Washington, DC-MD-VA with 33 hotels and 4,669 rooms, San Antonio with 32 hotels and 3,041 rooms, Chicago with 31 hotels and 5,732 rooms, and Atlanta with 31 hotels and 5,258 rooms.
Outlook
Looking ahead, Phoenix leads the 2026 year-end new hotel openings forecast with 26 hotels and 3,615 rooms, followed by New York with 20 hotels and 3,079 rooms, Dallas with 20 hotels and 2,332 rooms, Inland Empire with 12 hotels and 1,024 rooms and Austin with 11 hotels and 1,573 rooms.
For 2027, Dallas is forecast to lead new hotel openings with 27 hotels and 2,486 rooms, followed by Atlanta with 22 hotels and 2,145 rooms, Phoenix with 16 hotels and 1,989 rooms, Nashville with 16 hotels and 1,853 rooms, and Indianapolis with 15 hotels and 2,154 rooms.
Releasing for the first time this quarter, LE's forecast for new hotel openings in 2028 shows Atlanta leading with 25 hotels and 2,345 rooms, followed by Dallas with 19 hotels and 2,042 rooms, Saint Louis with 14 hotels and 1,438 rooms, Austin with 14 hotels and 1,344 rooms, and Memphis with 14 hotels and 1,233 rooms.
It’s worth noting that in Q2 2025, LE forecast 735 new hotels/84,788 rooms to open by year-end 2025. In Q2 2026, the forecast for full-year 2026 is 661 new hotels/74,820 rooms, which is much closer to the Q2 2024 forecast of 650 hotels/74,228 rooms than to the more optimistic 2025 projection.
The strongest framing is:“Hotel development is still concentrated in the Sun Belt, but the cycle has cooled from last year’s peak.”