According to the latest "Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report" from Lodging Econometrics, the global hotel construction pipeline stands at 13,770 hotels and 2,304,386 rooms as of the end of 2021. Year over year, the total global pipeline decreased 1 percent by projects and is largely unchanged by rooms.
At year-end, the industry had 6,101 hotels and 1,136,680 rooms under construction worldwide, according to LE. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 3,547 hotels and 518,159 rooms at the end of 2021, and projects in the early planning stage are at all-time highs and stand at 4,122 hotels and 649,547 rooms. Conversion projects are at an all-time high as well, standing at 1,448 hotels and 190,322 rooms.
Other highlights from the report:
Top Markets
The top countries by project count are the United States with 4,814 hotels and 581,953 rooms and China reaching a new all-time high in Q4 with 3,693 hotels and 700,567 rooms. The U.S. accounts for 35 percent of projects in the total global construction pipeline while China accounts for 27 percent; resulting in 62 percent of all global projects in just these two countries. Following distantly is the United Kingdom with 313 hotels and 48,770 rooms, Indonesia with 304 hotels and 48,175 rooms, and Germany with 277 hotels and 48,827 rooms.
Around the world, the cities with the largest pipeline counts are Dallas with 152 hotels and 18,180 rooms; Chengdu, China, with 144 hotels and 29,485 rooms; and Atlanta with 133 hotels and 17,593 rooms. Shanghai follows with 127 hotels and 24,279 rooms, and then New York City with 121 hotels and 19,303 rooms.
Top Companies, Top Brands
The leading franchise companies in the global construction pipeline by project count are Marriott International with 2,536 hotels and 426,744 rooms, Hilton with 2,521 hotels and 376,251 rooms; IHG Hotels & Resorts with 1,652 hotels and 244,179 rooms; and Accor with 940 hotels and 166,411 rooms. These four companies account for 56 percent of all projects in the global pipeline.
Brands leading in the pipeline for each of these companies are Marriott’s Fairfield Inn, with 360 hotels and 43,791 rooms; Hampton by Hilton with 764 hotels and 101,455 rooms; IHG’s Holiday Inn Express with 613 hotels and 78,791 rooms; and Accor’s Ibis brands with 274 hotels and 37,937 rooms.
Globally, throughout 2021, 2,246 hotels opened, accounting for 340,667 rooms. Four hundred sixty-nine of those hotels and 76,363 rooms opened in the fourth quarter of 2021. LE is forecasting 2,805 hotels with 428,037 rooms to open in 2022 and another 2,934 hotels/447,575 rooms to open in 2023.