- LE: Global hotel pipeline at 15,976 projects.
- U.S., China account for 59 percent of the total.
- India reached 1,033 projects, up 36 percent.
THE GLOBAL HOTEL construction pipeline reached 15,976 projects with 2.43 million rooms in the second quarter of 2026, according to Lodging Econometrics. The U.S. led with 5,975 projects and 703,001 rooms, accounting for 37 percent of the global pipeline.
LE’s “Q2 2026 Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report” showed China ranked second with 3,588 projects and 632,256 rooms. The U.S. and China together accounted for 59 percent of the global pipeline.
In the U.S., 1,081 projects with 133,216 rooms were under construction at the end of the quarter. Another 2,147 projects with 245,871 rooms were scheduled to start within 12 months, while 2,747 projects with 323,914 rooms were in early planning.
Dallas led U.S. cities with 183 projects and 22,840 rooms, followed by Atlanta with 157 projects and 17,423 rooms. Nashville ranked fourth with 122 projects and 16,281 rooms.
Globally, 974 new project announcements totaling 138,743 rooms were made in the quarter. Construction began on 602 projects with 83,232 rooms.
The global pipeline included 2,927 conversion projects with 351,257 rooms, up 12 percent by projects and 17 percent by rooms year over year. Renovations and conversions totaled 3,760 projects and 521,849 rooms, up 8 percent by projects and 5 percent by rooms.
Luxury hotels had 1,385 projects and 257,947 rooms, up 8 percent by projects year over year. Upper-upscale hotels had 1,923 projects and 396,483 rooms, also up 8 percent by projects.
Upscale hotels had 3,918 projects and 659,976 rooms, up 1 percent by projects year over year. Upper-midscale hotels led the chain scales by project count with 4,632 projects and 578,432 rooms, up 3 percent.
India reached 1,033 projects and 137,601 rooms, up 36 percent by projects and 39 percent by rooms year over year. Saudi Arabia had 387 projects and 105,648 rooms, while Canada had 345 projects and 47,874 rooms.
Asia Pacific had 6,094 projects and 1.09 million rooms, up 4 percent by projects year over year. Excluding China, the region had 2,506 projects and 452,972 rooms, up 17 percent by projects and 11 percent by rooms. The Middle East had 724 projects, up 11 percent, while Africa had 343 projects, up 15 percent.
In 2025, 2,438 hotels opened with 332,699 rooms. Lodging Econometrics forecasts 2,742 openings with 379,921 rooms in 2026, 2,590 hotels with 389,412 rooms in 2027, and 2,499 hotels with 361,430 rooms in 2028.
