The Q4 2023 Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE) revealed that the global hotel construction pipeline hit all-time high project counts in Q4. At the close of 2023, LE analysts stated that the total global construction pipeline stands at 15,196 projects/2,367,727 rooms, a 7 percent increase in projects, and a 3 percent increase in rooms year-over-year (YOY).
There were 6,160 projects/1,096,748 rooms currently under construction worldwide in Q4 2023, for a 2 percent increase by projects YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stood at 3,850 projects/536,588 rooms, for a 7 percent increase by projects and a 5 percent increase by rooms YOY. Projects and rooms in the early planning stage were at all-time highs and stand at 5,186 projects/734,391 rooms, increasing 12 percent and 6 percent YOY, respectively. Additionally, the renovation and conversion pipeline globally was the highest it has ever been, reaching 3,291 projects/510,584 rooms at the end of Q4 2023.
The top countries by project count were led by the United States, with an all-time high by projects of 5,964 projects/693,963 rooms. Following the United States was China, reaching an all-time high of 3,788 projects with 691,772 rooms. In Q4, the United States represented 39 percent of the projects in the total global pipeline, while China accounts for 25 percent of the projects in the total pipeline, resulting in 64 percent of all global projects in just these two countries. Distantly following were India with 514 projects/61,075 rooms, the United Kingdom with 322 projects/43,990 rooms, and Saudi Arabia with 300 projects/72,761 rooms.
Three of the five cities with the largest construction pipeline totals were located in the United States in Q4: Dallas, Texas, with 193 projects/22,291 rooms; Atlanta, Georgia, with 151 projects/18,730 rooms; and Nashville, Tennessee, with 123 projects/16,148 rooms. Chengdu, China, also ranked among the top five cities with 148 projects/29,575 rooms. The Provincial cities in Saudi Arabia followed with 133 projects/28,656 rooms.
Globally, during 2023, 1,978 new hotels opened, accounting for 292,380 rooms, 636 of those hotels and 94,559 rooms in the fourth quarter. LE analysts forecast an additional 2,550 new hotels with 389,799 rooms to open by year-end 2024 and another 2,804 new hotels/430,546 rooms to open in 2025.
