The Q2 2024 Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics (LE) stated that the total pipeline ascended to a record-high 15,453 projects with 2,395,726 rooms, up 6 percent by projects year-over-year (YOY) and 4 percent by rooms.
Worldwide, at the close of the second quarter, there were 6,265 projects/1,115,989 rooms under construction, up 2 percent by projects and 1 percent by rooms YOY. Projects and rooms scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months grew 8 percent YOY to close the quarter at 3,972 projects/545,764 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage continue to grow, with a 10 percent increase in projects and a 6 percent increase in rooms, YOY, standing at 5,216 projects/733,973 rooms.
Upper midscale, upscale, and midscale chain scales dominated the pipeline in Q2, accounting for 65 percent of the projects in the total pipeline. Of that 65 percent, upper midscale hotel projects comprised 29 percent of the projects in the total global pipeline with a record 4,540 projects and 585,688 rooms. Upscale projects and rooms also achieved record-highs in Q2, with 3,688 projects/634,050 rooms, while midscale hotel projects increased 5 percent YOY to close the quarter at 1,868 projects/186,592 rooms. Luxury projects and room counts also reached record-high counts in Q2; a 13 percent YOY increase in projects and a 14 percent YOY increase in rooms, to stand at 1,066 projects/214,270 rooms.
In Q2, the top countries by project count were the United States, closing the quarter at a record 6,095 projects with 713,151 rooms, and China, also reaching record-high project counts of 3,815 projects with 699,786 rooms. The United States accounted for 39 percent of the projects in the global pipeline while China accounted for 25 percent, resulting in 64 percent of the global pipeline being concentrated within just two countries. Distantly following was India standing at a record-high 610 projects with 75,280 rooms, Canada with record-highs of 322 projects and 40,297 rooms, and Saudi Arabia, also reaching record-highs in Q2, with 320 projects and 79,756 rooms.
Around the world, the cities with the largest pipelines by project counts were Dallas, Texas, with 189 projects and a record-high 22,392 rooms, Atlanta, Georgia, with a record-high of 159 projects with 18,522 rooms, and Chengdu, China, with 147 projects/26,951 rooms. Shanghai, China, follows with 126 projects/24,340 rooms, and then California’s Inland Empire, set a new record with 124 projects and 12,569 rooms.
The first half of 2024 saw 948 new hotels/135,579 rooms open around the world with an additional 1,586 new hotels/237,107 rooms scheduled to open by year-end. LE analysts forecast a total of 2,534 new hotels with 372,686 rooms to open in 2024. With the global pipeline projects at an all-time high, LE forecasts that new hotel openings will continue to climb with 2,756 new hotels/429,120 rooms expected to open in 2025. For 2026, LE analysts forecast 2,812 new hotels/430,355 rooms to open worldwide.
