PORTSMOUTH, NH—By the end of 2018, the census of open and operating U.S. hotels is expected to grow by 2.5 percent to 1,145 projects/130,209 rooms open, according to published reports from Lodging Econometrics. The largest chain scale—the upper midscale hotel segment—will open 514 projects/50,165 rooms—45 percent of all new openings. Nearly half of all new openings—556 projects/59,309 rooms—will be in suburban locations and the U.S. market with the most anticipated openings is New York with 57 projects/9,534 Rooms.
In 2019, the census is expected to grow another 2.5 percent by opening 1,209 projects/137,546 rooms, about 6 percent more projects than are anticipated to open in 2018. In 2019, New York is again the top market for new hotel openings with 37 projects/4,601 rooms. The upper midscale segment is expected to remain the top chain scale for new openings with 573 projects/55,660 rooms and suburban markets may see 661 projects/69,715 rooms open up.
