The latest United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE) showed that Dallas is leading the nation’s hotel construction pipeline with a record-breaking 204 projects totaling 23,669 rooms. Atlanta followed with a record of 168 projects (19,431 rooms), while Nashville (130 projects/17,029 rooms), Phoenix (record 130 projects/16,824 rooms), and the Inland Empire (122 projects/12,234 rooms) completed the top five markets.
In the under-construction stage of the pipeline, New York City led with 36 projects (5,928 rooms), followed by Phoenix (31 projects/4,788 rooms), Dallas (31 projects/3,467 rooms), Atlanta (27 projects/3,211 rooms), and the Inland Empire (19 projects/1,962 rooms).
Dallas continued to dominate planned construction starts anytime within the next 12 months with 78 projects (8,856 rooms). Atlanta followed with 62 projects (7,545 rooms), then Austin with 53 projects (6,663 rooms), while Nashville and Phoenix each had 48 projects planned (6,533 and 6,272 rooms respectively).
The early planning stage further demonstrated Dallas’ market strength, with 95 projects (11,346 rooms). Atlanta was next with 79 projects (8,675 rooms) in early planning, while Nashville (64 projects/7,840 rooms), Los Angeles (56 projects/9,243 rooms), and Austin (55 projects/5,974 rooms) rounded out the top five.
These project counts underscored unprecedented future growth in the U.S. hotel sector, with the South and Southwest regions leading the way.
LE’s latest report also revealed substantial hotel renovation and conversion activity across the United States at the end of Q4 2024, totaling 1,997 projects with 255,816 rooms. Washington, D.C. led these combined projects with 34 projects comprising 5,204 rooms, while Chicago and Charlotte each reported 31 projects (7,514 and 3,384 rooms respectively). Houston followed with 30 projects (4,335 rooms), and Atlanta completed the top five with 28 projects (3,595 rooms).
The fourth quarter also saw 459 new project announcements nationwide, with 46 percent of these announcements concentrated in the top 50 U.S. markets. Dallas emerged as the leader in new project announcements with 20 projects (2,061 rooms), followed by Phoenix (12 projects/1,376 rooms) and Raleigh-Durham (10 projects/1,146 rooms). Las Vegas and Nashville rounded out the top markets for new announcements, each with 8 projects (4,556 and 991 rooms respectively).
The U.S. market saw 583 new hotel openings accounting for 67,995 rooms through Q4 2024. New York topped the list of new hotel openings with 16 hotels (1,824 rooms), followed by Dallas (14 hotels/1,847 rooms), Nashville (13 hotels/1,770 rooms), Orlando (11 hotels/1,908 rooms), and Phoenix (10 hotels/1,230 rooms).
