Hotel Development Trends & Projections
Asia Pacific, Excluding China, Hotel Construction Pipeline Reaches Record Highs at the Close of Q2 2026; Plus, New 2028 Forecast
Lodging Econometrics’ (LE’s) Q2 2026 Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report for Asia Pacific, excluding China (APEC), shows the region’s total pipeline reaches a record high of 2,506 projects/452,972 rooms at the close of the second quarter, up 17% by projects and 11% by rooms year-over-year (YOY).
By pipeline stage, projects under construction stand at 989 projects/199,362 rooms, up 13% by projects and 5% by rooms YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction within the next 12 months total 398 projects/72,213 rooms at Q2, up 5% by projects YOY. Hotel construction projects currently in the early planning stage stand at a record high of 1,119 projects and 181,397 rooms at Q2, up 26% by projects and 25% by rooms YOY, and accounting for 45% of the total pipeline. Additionally, construction starts in the region total 101 projects/16,628 rooms.
Most chain scales are hitting record highs across the board in APEC. Luxury reaches 432 projects/79,928 rooms, up 22% by projects and 18% by rooms YOY, while the upper upscale chain scale reaches to 435 projects/91,231 rooms, up 14% by projects and 11% by rooms YOY, and upscale hotel projects in the APEC region stand at 658 projects/121,365 rooms up 22% by projects and 15% by rooms YOY. The upper midscale chain reaches 423 projects/75,866 rooms, up 17% by projects and 2% by rooms YOY, while midscale closes the quarter with a record project total of 310 projects/39,113 rooms, up 19% by projects and 13% by rooms YOY. Combined, the top two chain scales by project count, upper upscale and upscale account for 44% of projects and 42% of the region’s total pipeline at the quarter’s close.
New project announcements (NPAs) in the APEC region at Q2 2026 stand at 217 projects/34,938 rooms, up significantly by projects and rooms YOY. Combined hotel renovations and brand conversions stand at a record high of 346 projects/58,429 rooms, up 36% by projects and 25% by rooms YOY.
One hundred and forty-eight projects/20,594 rooms opened across the APEC region in the first half of 2026, with 236 new hotel projects accounting for 41,217 rooms forecast to open in the third and fourth quarters. Looking ahead, LE forecasts 374 new hotels/68,396 rooms to open in 2027 and announcing for the first time is LE’s 2028 forecast, projecting 363 new hotels/59,659 rooms to open across the APEC region that year.
Combined, Five Countries represent 74% of the Total Asia Pacific, Excluding China, Pipeline
India leads all countries in the APEC region at Q2 with a record-high 1,033 projects and 137,601 rooms in its hotel construction pipeline, up 36% by projects and 39% by rooms YOY. Vietnam follows with 265 projects/81,848 rooms, up 7% by projects YOY. Japan ranks third with 207 projects/31,360 rooms, up 17% by projects and 9% by rooms YOY, followed by Indonesia with 189 projects/31,772 rooms, up 12% by projects and 8% by rooms YOY. Thailand closes the quarter with 167 projects/42,069 rooms. Combined, the top five countries by project count total 1,861 projects/324,650 rooms, representing 74% of the total pipeline.
By city, Bangkok leads with 67 projects/16,372 rooms, then Bengaluru with 51 projects/10,258 rooms, up 42% by projects and 44% by rooms YOY. Mumbai follows with 49 projects/10,232 rooms, up 58% by projects YOY. Jakarta and Phuket round out the region’s leading cities with 47 projects/10,140 rooms and 44 projects/10,352 rooms, respectively.
1,100+ New Hotel Openings Forecast for 2026; Hotel Conversions Hit Record High
In the Q2 2026 China Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the quarter, China’s total hotel construction pipeline stands at 3,588 projects with 632,256 rooms.
Hotel projects under construction at Q2 total 2,547 projects/442,737 rooms, projects scheduled to start construction within the next twelve months close the quarter with 343 projects/57,665 rooms, while projects in early planning rose YOY to total 698 with 131,854 rooms, up 4% by projects and 3% by rooms.
Construction starts also increased in Q2, rising 7% YOY by projects, to close the quarter at 205 projects/30,394 rooms.
The upper midscale chain scale reaches a record high total this quarter, with 1,287 projects/188,175 rooms, up 7% by projects and 3% by rooms YOY. The upscale chain scale also reaches a record-high project count with 1,087 projects/219,168 rooms. Combined, these two chain scales account for 66% of projects and 64% of rooms in China’s hotel construction pipeline, totaling 2,374 projects/407,343 rooms, up 4% by projects YOY.
Combined, hotel renovations and brand conversions in China reach a record-high project total at Q2, increasing 24% YOY by projects and 18% by rooms, with 265 hotels/45,733 rooms. Conversions account for ninety-two percent of this total with a record-high of 245 projects/39,431 rooms.
Through the second quarter of 2026, 500 new hotels, accounting for 69,422 rooms, have opened in China. The LE forecast for new hotel openings expects another 631 hotels with 92,243 rooms to open in the third and fourth quarters, bringing the forecasted new hotel openings to 1,131 new hotels with 161,665 rooms by year-end 2026.
LE analysts forecast 890 new hotels with 149,076 rooms to open in 2027 and, for the first time, LE is announcing its 2028 forecast, with analysts projecting 680 new hotel openings with 118,996 rooms to open by year-end.
Chengdu Leads China with the Largest Hotel Construction Pipeline
Cities in China with the largest pipelines, at the Q2 close, are Chengdu, with 127 projects/22,785 rooms; Guangzhou, with 120 projects/24,633 rooms; Shanghai, with 109 projects/20,342 rooms; Hangzhou, with 95 projects/17,708 rooms; and Beijing, with 81 projects/13,073 rooms.