Hotel construction in the United States hit new historic levels in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Lodging Econometrics’ (LE’s) latest Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend report. The total pipeline reached 6,378 projects, a new project record, with 746,986 rooms, showing year-over-year (YOY) growth of 7% in projects and 8% in rooms.
The U.S. hotel pipeline shows robust activity across all project stages. Projects currently under construction stand at 1,149 projects totaling 142,238 rooms, reflecting a healthy increase in projects YOY. Looking ahead, there are 2,259 projects with 259,108 rooms scheduled to break ground anytime between now and the next 12 months.
The most dramatic growth appears in the early planning stage, which reached unprecedented counts with 2,970 projects and 345,640 rooms. This represents significant YOY growth, with projects up 15% and room counts increasing by 19% YOY.
By chain scale, upper midscale hotels lead the pipeline with a record-breaking 2,354 projects and 227,845 rooms. Upscale hotels follow with 1,471 projects and 182,474 rooms. The midscale segment achieved a new record with 957 projects and 80,436 rooms, while the upper upscale chain scale reached a record 338 projects at the Q4 ’24 close.
The U.S. hotel industry saw growth in new project announcements during 2024, with 459 new projects totaling 58,123 rooms entering the pipeline. Brand conversions maintained strong momentum through year-end ‘24, reaching a record high of 1,336 projects with 128,736 rooms at the Q4 close.
While renovation activity showed a slight decline in Q4, it remained robust with 661 projects comprising 127,080 rooms. Together, renovation and conversion projects represent a significant portion of hotel development activity, totaling 1,997 projects with 255,816 rooms.
New hotel openings in 2024 were at 583 hotels with 67,995 rooms in the U.S., expanding the nation’s hotel supply by 1.2%. Lodging Econometrics projects even stronger growth ahead, with 730 new hotels and 82,538 rooms expected to open in 2025, which will correlate into a 1.5% increase in supply. Growth is forecast to accelerate further in 2026, with 904 new hotels and 97,328 rooms scheduled to open, which would further boost the national supply by 1.7%.