Hotel Construction Pipeline Growth in Asia Pacific, Excluding China, Remains Steady at Q3 Close

In the recently released Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), Asia Pacific’s total construction pipeline, excluding China, continued to show steady year-over-year (YOY) growth to end the third quarter of 2023 at 1,929 projects/398,199 rooms, up 3% by projects YOY.

Projects currently under construction in the region stand at 954 projects/220,336 rooms, up 1% by projects YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 295 projects/51,756 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage of the pipeline stand at 680 projects/126,107 rooms, up 7% by projects YOY. Furthermore, the luxury, upper upscale, and upscale chain scales each hit peak project counts at the end of Q3 and account for 53% of the projects in the region’s hotel construction pipeline.

Excluding China, the Asia Pacific region had 270 new hotels with 40,972 rooms open through the close of the third quarter and is forecast to open another 113 new hotel openings with 20,247 rooms by year-end. The LE forecast for new hotel openings will rise in 2024 to 406 hotels, accounting for 78,110 rooms, before slowing in 2025 to 358 new hotel openings with 74,199 rooms.

India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand Have the Most Projects in Asia Pacific, Excluding China, Pipeline

At Q3, countries with the largest hotel construction pipelines in Asia Pacific, excluding China, are led by India, with 481 projects/57,879 rooms, accounting for 25% of the region’s total pipeline. Next is Vietnam with 243 projects/87,062 rooms, then Indonesia with 212 projects/35,333 rooms. Japan follows with 156 projects/31,085 rooms, and then Thailand with 155 projects/38,706 rooms.

Asia Pacific cities outside of China with the largest construction pipelines are led by Bangkok, Thailand, with 60 projects/14,895 rooms. Next is Jakarta, Indonesia, with 49 projects/9,369 rooms, and Melbourne, Australia, with 41 projects/7,612 rooms. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, follows with 37 projects/10,864 rooms, and Phuket, Thailand, with 34 projects/9,903 rooms.