According to the Q4 2024 Latin America Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics (LE), the region’s total construction pipeline experienced robust growth, climbing to 685 projects/110,033 rooms, marking significant increases of 15% by projects and 13% by rooms year-over-year (YOY).
At Q4, projects under construction stand at 270 projects/48,138 rooms, up 13% by both projects and rooms YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months reached 179 projects/28,942 rooms, showing increases of 4% by projects and 5% by rooms YOY. Projects in early planning demonstrated substantial growth with 236 projects/32,953 rooms, up 28% by projects and 20% by rooms YOY. New project announcements into the pipeline during Q4 saw a notable increase of 44% by projects and 32% by rooms YOY, with 82 projects/12,295 rooms.
The luxury segment achieved record-high numbers in Q4, with 129 projects/26,077 rooms. Upper upscale projects also reached a record high with 115 projects/22,509 rooms, while upscale projects stand at 136 projects/19,220 rooms. Together, these top three chain scales account for 56% of the projects and 54% of the rooms in the region’s total pipeline.
Mexico leads the countries in Latin America’s hotel construction pipeline with a record-high 248 projects/38,104 rooms, up 10% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY. Brazil follows with 106 projects/14,799 rooms, up 23% by projects and 9% by rooms YOY. The Dominican Republic achieved record highs with 66 projects/16,908 rooms, showing substantial increases of 38% by projects and 31% by rooms YOY. Colombia follows with 30 projects/3,971 rooms, and Peru with 28 projects/3,753 rooms.
Cities with the largest pipelines include Mexico City, Mexico, with 24 projects/2,927 rooms; Lima, Peru, with 14 projects/2,194 rooms; Riviera Maya, Mexico, with 14 projects/1,589 rooms; Georgetown, Guyana, with 12 projects/1,662 rooms; and Medellin, Colombia, with 11 projects/1,439 rooms.
In Q4 2024, 25 new hotels/4,470 rooms opened in Latin America, bringing the year-to-date total to 73 new hotels/13,754 rooms. Looking ahead, LE analysts forecast 106 new hotels/17,615 rooms to open in 2025, followed by 133 new hotels/20,422 rooms in 2026.