Market Trends

🏢 In Q4 2024, the U.S. hotel construction pipeline reached a record 6,378 projects and 746,986 rooms, showing a 7% YOY increase in projects and 8% in rooms. Under construction: 1,149 projects (142,238 rooms). Next 12 months: 2,259 projects (259,108 rooms). Early planning: 2,970 projects (345,640 rooms), up 15% in projects and 19% YOY in room counts. Leading segments: upper midscale (2,354 projects, 227,845 rooms) and upscale (1,471 projects, 182,474 rooms). New announcements in 2024: 459 projects (58,123 rooms). Brand conversions reached a high of 1,336 projects (128,736 rooms). Renovations: 661 projects (127,080 rooms). Hotel openings in 2024: 583 hotels (67,995 rooms) upping supply by 1.2%. Projected openings: 2025 (730 hotels, 82,538 rooms, 1.5% supply increase), 2026 (904 hotels, 97,328 rooms, 1.7% supply increase).

🏖️ SLS Hotels & Residences, under Ennismore, to open SLS Punta del Este Residences in Uruguay with an 80-room hotel. The project, developed by GNV Group and designed by Gómez Platero, includes 314 luxury apartments and penthouses with amenities like rooftop pool, spa, and on-demand services. Sizes range from 67 to 223 square meters. Accor One Living supports the sector's growth, with Ennismore operating over 35 properties worldwide.

🏖 Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to open Rosewood Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic by 2029 in partnership with Grupo Puntacana. The ultra-luxury resort will feature 78 suites, including overwater villas, eight dining venues, an Asaya-branded wellness center, and a range of facilities on 50 acres of beachfront within a 15,000-acre resort community. The resort is 10 minutes from Punta Cana International Airport, adding to Rosewood's Caribbean portfolio alongside Rosewood Baha Mar and Rosewood Little Dix Bay, among others.

🏨 Whitbread has opened seven new Premier Inn hotels since March 2024, adding 1,000+ rooms. Key locations include London Waterloo (137 rooms), Torquay Harbour (120 rooms), York Layerthorpe (188 rooms), Bristol Parkway (103 rooms), Paddington Station, Cambridge City Centre (120 rooms), and Lambeth North, London (137 rooms). With over 85,500 rooms across 855 properties in the UK and Ireland, and a network of over 10,000 rooms in Germany, Whitbread aims for 125,000 rooms in the future, targeting 40 new locations around the M25 and 13 sites in Ireland. Whitbread's growth strategy involves leasehold developments and converting vacant office buildings to reduce CO2 emissions.

🏠 DidaTravel revealed a 48% increase in outbound hotel bookings during the 2025 Chinese New Year compared to 2024. Top destinations for outbound Chinese travelers included Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and the US, with Japan's bookings tripling and US bookings doubling YoY. The global average daily rate for hotels rose nearly 10% YoY, but 5-star bookings dropped from 32.2% to 26.5%. The average length of stay remained at 3 days, and advance booking windows extended from 45 to 54 days. Inbound travel to China saw double-digit growth, with South Korea leading in bookings.

🏖️ Travel trends are shifting as people seek off-season trips and lesser-known destinations for value and authenticity. Algorithms dominate travel recommendations, often lacking novelty. Innovative marketing strategies like "what's the exact opposite?" are emerging, exemplified by campaigns like "Closed for Maintenance" in the Faroe Islands and Scandinavian Airlines' "The 72 Hour Cabin" stunt. TikTok influences travel with 'travel dupes,' suggesting affordable alternatives like Taipei over Korea. Success in travel marketing now demands deeper audience insights and counter-culture content strategies, focusing on year-round engagement and defying seasonality to attract today's travelers.

🏨 Global hotel brands are utilizing key money—a payment not exceeding 5% of total deal cost—to secure hotel management or franchise agreements. Marriott uses key money in about 33% of deals, while Hilton does so for roughly 9%. Sonesta International Hotels, managing 1,100 hotels, employs key money to stimulate growth and compete for conversions. The trend has surged in the past 24 months due to higher construction costs, supply-chain issues, and inflation. Choice Hotels spent 21% of gross fees on key money in 2023, and Wyndham's spending represented 9% of their gross fees. Key money can also be a defensive strategy to maintain marquee assets. Despite its benefits, some owners and operators, like Stonebridge Companies, view key money critically, preferring performance-based relationships without the strings attached.