There are now more hotels being planned for construction in the country than at any previous time in history.
So says a new report just issued by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Lodging Econometrics showing that as of the end of the end of June there were exactly 6,095 projects in the pipeline nationally. That figure represents a very substantial room count of just over 713,000.
By way of example, ten years ago in 2014, the industry saw a total of 3,645 individual projects representing 460,551 rooms.
Not only do the numbers reveal a vibrant building industry, but they also represent a 9% increase over projects being planned in the second quarter of 2023.
As for projects that are actually in construction, the Lodging Econometrics report reveals: “At the close of the second quarter, there are 1,171 projects comprising 147,611 rooms,” a total that marks a 10% increase in the number of projects built in the spring of 2023.
And while the hotel construction picture for the last few months has been nothing less than vigorous, the near future doesn’t look very shabby either. The remainder of the year, says the report, “includes the opening of another 400 projects with 44,451 rooms, totaling 650 new hotels, with 74,228 rooms by the end of the year. “
In fact, those figures represent a 35% increase over the total number of hotel openings last year.
Hotels categorized in the “upper midscale chain scale” accounted for 2,262 projects, with 219,547 rooms, making it the largest hospitality construction sector. The second busiest sector was seen in upper chain properties, with 1,417 projects for a total of 175,343 rooms.
The boom comes with a distinct regional flavor, as eight of the top ten states comprising 60% of projects in the pipeline are located in the Sunbelt: North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Arizona, and California. Only two Northern states, New York and Michigan, saw similar growth.
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay
