The latest Latin America Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics (LE) reveals substantial growth in the region’s hotel construction sector. At the close of Q1 2025, the total hotel construction pipeline in Latin America stands at 715 projects and 112,598 rooms, marking an 18% increase in projects and an 11% increase in rooms year-over-year (YOY).
At the end of the first quarter, there are 287 projects/49,570 rooms under construction in Latin America, reflecting a 15% YOY increase by projects and a 5% increase by rooms. Additionally, projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 190 projects/29,084 rooms, up 1% by projects and rooms YOY, while those in early planning stand at 238 projects/33,944 rooms, up 43% by projects and 37% by rooms YOY.
Chain scales with the largest pipelines in Latin America at the Q1 close include the upscale chain scale with 139 projects/20,122 rooms, the luxury chain scale with all-time highs of 135 projects and 26,440 rooms, and the midscale chain scale with 128 projects/15,772 rooms. Notably, upper upscale chain scale projects in Latin America reached a record-high project total at Q1 to close the quarter with 119 projects/22,567 rooms.
Countries in Latin America with the largest number of projects in the pipeline at Q1 are Mexico with 254 projects/39,163 rooms, Brazil with 112 projects/15,134 rooms, and the Dominican Republic with 78 projects/18,331 rooms. Mexico reached a new record-high project total at Q1, while the Dominican Republic achieved both record-high project and room totals. These three countries account for 62% of the projects and 65% of the rooms in the total Latin America pipeline.
Key cities in Latin America with the largest construction pipelines include Mexico City, Mexico, with 26 projects/3,068 rooms, Riviera Maya, Mexico with 16 projects/1,846 rooms, and Lima, Peru with 14 projects/2,192 rooms. Following Lima is the Dominican Republic’s Santo Domingo, with 13 projects/1,546 rooms and Georgetown, Guyana, with 12 projects/1,664 rooms.
Hotel renovation and brand conversion activity remains strong in Latin America at the end of Q1 2025, accounting for 137 projects/26,015 rooms. Construction starts in the quarter totaled 36 projects/5,353 rooms, while new project announcements (NPAs) showed growth with 58 projects/9,364 rooms.
The first quarter of 2025 saw 8 new hotels/1,319 rooms open throughout Latin America. The LE new hotel openings forecast for the remainder of the year expects an additional 89 new hotels with 14,761 rooms to open by year-end, for a 2025 year-end total of 97 projects/16,080 rooms. Looking ahead, LE analysts expect new hotel openings in Latin America to increase in 2026 with 133 new hotels/20,345 rooms forecast to open.