PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — According to Lodging Econometrics’ (LE’s) Construction Pipeline Trend Report for the United States, the total U.S. hotel construction pipeline stood at 5,216 projects/650,222 rooms at the end of 2020—down only incrementally even as the United States grappled with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, an election, civil unrest, and other factors. At the close of 2019, the total U.S. hotel construction pipeline stood at 5,748 projects totaling 708,898 rooms.
At the end of Q4 2020, the number of projects under construction stood at 1,487 projects/199,700 rooms. Of those, 24 percent belong to extended-stay brands, a segment of the industry that developers have become increasingly interested in over the last few years. Projects under construction continue to move towards opening, according to LE’s report. Through year-end 2020, the U.S. opened 833 projects accounting for 97,203 rooms, bringing the U.S. supply of open and operating hotels to 58,569 hotels/5,557,119 rooms. Additionally, of the 833 projects opened in 2020, 29 percent of those projects belong to extended-stay brands.
LE is forecasting another 929 projects/107,407 rooms will open by the end of 2021. If all of these projects come to fruition it will represent a 1.9 percent increase in new hotel supply. For 2022, LE is forecasting 1,031 projects/116,749 rooms to open.
The number of projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months total 2,015 projects/234,703 rooms—down 12 percent by projects and 11 percent by rooms year over year. Projects in the early planning stage stand at 1,714 projects/215,819 rooms, a cyclical high in the number of rooms, and up slightly from the previous year.
LE also noted that renovations and brand conversions are becoming more prevalent. At the end of Q4 2020, 1,308 projects/210,124 rooms were under renovation or conversion in the United States. The number of projects and rooms grew consistently over the last three quarters of 2020.
