According to the latest Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the hotel development pipeline across the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, (APEC) continued its growth trajectory through the third quarter of 2025. At the close of Q3, the total APEC hotel construction pipeline reached record-highs of 2,262 projects and 434,593 rooms, representing year-over-year (YOY) increases of 9% and 6% respectively.
At the close of the third quarter, hotel projects in the APEC region currently under construction stand at 898 projects/199,865 rooms, up 6% by projects and 1% by rooms YOY. Projects scheduled to start within the next 12 months stand at 374 projects/72,215 rooms at the end of Q3, up 6% by projects and 12% by rooms YOY. Projects and rooms in the early planning stage hit record highs, reaching 990 projects with 162,513 rooms, up 14% by projects and 9% by rooms YOY.
New project announcements (NPAs) in the third quarter totaled 226 projects with 42,405 rooms. Construction starts reached 102 projects/24,430 rooms. Both NPAs and construction starts nearly doubled by project count YOY.
The upper upscale and upscale chain scales dominate the APEC pipeline at the Q3 close, accounting for 43% of projects and 45% of the rooms in the pipeline. Projects in the upscale chain scale reached record highs at Q3 with 560 projects and 109,928 rooms, up 11% by projects and 10% by rooms YOY. The upper upscale chain scale also hit record highs with 407 projects/86,110 rooms, up 12% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY. Notably, the luxury chain scale segment also reached record-high project counts at Q3, closing the quarter at 374 projects/70,470 rooms, up 15% by projects and 12% by rooms YOY.
At Q3, combined hotel renovations and brand conversions in the APEC region hit record-high room counts at 287 projects/52,825 rooms, up 24% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY.
India continues to lead the region with record-high counts, with 838 projects and 108,775 rooms at Q3, up 31% by projects and 37% by rooms YOY, and accounting for 37% of total projects and 25% of the rooms in the region’s overall pipeline. Other top countries include Vietnam with 248 projects/91,003 rooms, Thailand with 167 projects/43,600 rooms, Japan with 193 projects/31,931 rooms, and Indonesia with 177 projects/30,106 rooms.
At the close of the third quarter, cities with the largest pipelines by project count in the APEC region include Bangkok, Thailand, with 65 projects/16,316 rooms; Jakarta, Indonesia, with 48 projects/10,466 rooms; Phuket, Thailand, with 42 projects/10,419 rooms; Bengaluru, India, with 39 projects/7,710 rooms; and Da Nang, Vietnam, with 24 projects/10,395 rooms.
In the first three quarters, 220 new hotels with 34,452 rooms opened across the APEC region. For the remainder of the year, LE analysts forecast another 105 new hotels/18,299 rooms to open, for a year-end 2025 forecasted total of 325 new hotels/52,751 rooms.
Looking ahead, the LE forecast for new hotel openings in the APEC region anticipates 336 new hotels with 72,886 rooms to open by year-end 2026, followed by 322 new hotels with 58,100 rooms by year-end 2027.
