According to Lodging Econometrics’s biannual "Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report," the total global construction pipeline stands at 12,839 hotels with 2,158,422 rooms—both figures at all-time highs. The total construction pipeline is up 86 percent by hotels over the cyclical low established in 2011 when global counts were at 6,907 hotels and 1,257,296 rooms.
There are 5,988 hotels with 1,133,017 rooms currently under construction worldwide. The number of hotels and rooms scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are also at a record high, with 3,945 properties and 570,731 rooms slated to break ground by next September. Hotels in the early planning stage are at 2,906 rooms with 454,674 hotels, just 134 hotels short of the record high established in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Top Countries, Top Cities
The top countries by project count are the U.S., which has been rising since 2011, with 5,312 hotels and 634,501 rooms; and China with 2,523 hotels and 556,645 rooms, which has been topping out for the past 4.5 years. The U.S. accounts for 41 percent of hotels in the total global construction pipeline while China accounts for 20 percent, resulting in 61 percent of hotels in the global pipeline being concentrated in just these two countries. Distantly following are Indonesia with 394 hotels and 66,759 rooms, Germany with 247 hotels and 47,155 rooms, and the United Kingdom with 247 hotels and 36,487 rooms.
The cities with the largest pipeline counts are New York with 169 hotels and 29,365 rooms, Dubai with 163 hotels and 47,783 rooms, and Dallas with 156 hotels and 18,908 rooms. These are followed by Houston with 150 hotels and 16,321 rooms and Shanghai with 121 hotels and 24,759 rooms. Of the top 10 cities having pipelines with more than 100 hotels, six are located in the U.S. while three are located in China.
Top Companies, Top Brands
The leading five franchise companies in the global construction pipeline by project count are Marriott International with 2,324 hotels and 391,058 rooms, Hilton with 2,202 hotels and 327,723 rooms, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 1,653 hotels and 244,038 rooms, AccorHotels with 809 hotels and 147,647 rooms and Choice Hotels with 1,024 hotels and 84,350 rooms rooms. Hyatt, at 212 hotels with 45,117 rooms, also is a major player in the large-scale luxury and upper-upscale sector, while Best Western’s pipeline of 275 hotels and 29,243 rooms are concentrated in the middle three chain scales.
The 25-year explosion of hotel brands now totals 610 globally. Marriott leads with 29 labels, followed by Accor with 25, Hilton with 15, IHG and Hyatt with 12 each, and Choice with 11.
Leading pipeline brands for each of these companies are Marriott’s Fairfield Inn with 345 hotels and 37,224 rooms, Hilton’s Hampton Inn with 604 hotels and 77,193 rooms, IHG’s Holiday Inn Express with 713 hotels and 88,689 rooms, AccorHotels’ ibis brand with 358 hotels and 53,387 rooms and Choice’s Comfort with 322 hotels and 26,878 rooms.