LE: LatAm hotel pipeline up 11% year over year

According to the Q2 2024 Latin America construction pipeline trend report from Lodging Econometrics, the region can expect stable growth in new hotel openings through 2026. This projected growth is supported by the region’s expanding construction pipeline, currently standing at 612 projects (97,597 rooms), marking an 11 percent increase in projects and a 10 percent increase in rooms year over year.

At the end of the second quarter, Latin America has 253 projects with 44,319 rooms under construction, reflecting an 11 percent year-over-year increase in projects and a 15 percent increase in rooms. Additionally, projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 187 hotels and 29,476 rooms, up 18 percent by projects and 17 percent by rooms YOY, while projects in the early planning stage increased by 3 percent YOY to stand at 172 hotels and 23,802 rooms at the close of the quarter.

Key chain scale segments in Latin America at the Q2 close include the upscale segment with 133 hotels and 18,807 rooms, the upper upscale segment with 101 hotels and 20,234 rooms, and the luxury segment with 96 hotels and 17,154 rooms.

Renovation and conversion activity is also on the rise in the region, with a record-breaking 186 hotels and 29,500 rooms at the end of Q2, representing a 30 percent year-over-year increase in projects and an 11 percent increase in rooms.

Top Markets

Countries with the greatest number of projects in the pipeline at the Q2 close includes Mexico with 226 projects and 33,599 rooms, followed by Brazil with 93 hotels and 13,911 rooms. These two countries account for 52 percent of the projects and 49 percent of the rooms in the total pipeline. The Dominican Republic follows with an all-time high of 51 hotels and 12,695 rooms, then Colombia with 27 hotels and 3,671 rooms.

Top cities in Latin America with the largest pipelines include Mexico City with 22 hotels and 2,467 rooms, Georgetown with 15 hotels and 2,089 rooms, São Paulo with 12 hotels and 2,559 rooms, Lima with 12 hotels and 1,914 rooms and Riviera Maya with 12 hotels and 1,421 rooms.

New projects announced into the Latin America pipeline during the second quarter are up 32 percent year over year with 62 hotels and 8,740 rooms.

In the first half of 2024, 40 new hotels and 8,730 rooms opened in Latin America. LE’s forecast for the remainder of the year anticipates an additional 60 new hotels with 8,825 rooms to open in Q3 and Q4, totaling 100 new hotels with 17,555 rooms by year-end.

LE’s new hotel openings forecast anticipates a steady increase in new hotel openings with 111 new hotels and 18,816 rooms forecast to open in 2025, and further rising in 2026 to 131 new hotels with 18,293 rooms forecast to open.