- U.S. hotel pipeline reached nearly 6,000 projects.
- Upper-midscale and upscale hotels lead the pipeline.
- New project announcements total 280.
THE U.S. HOTEL construction pipeline reached 5,975 projects with 703,001 rooms at the end of the second quarter, according to Lodging Econometrics. About 1,081 projects with 133,216 rooms were under construction at midyear.
LE's "Q2 2026 U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report" found 2,147 projects with 245,871 rooms set to begin construction within 12 months. There were 2,747 projects with 323,914 rooms in early planning.
Upper-midscale and upscale hotels accounted for the largest share of the pipeline. Upper-midscale totaled 2,225 projects with 214,027 rooms. Upscale reached 1,282 projects with 159,252 rooms, representing 59 percent of all projects and 53 percent of all rooms.
Luxury reached a record 103 projects with 25,496 rooms, up 12 percent in projects and 21 percent in rooms year over year. Upper-upscale reached 367 projects with 65,021 rooms.
Development activity increased during the quarter. New project announcements totaled 280 projects with 33,423 rooms, up 18 percent in projects and 23 percent in rooms year over year. Construction starts reached 176 projects with 20,056 rooms, up 14 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
Hotel conversions reached a record 1,567 projects with 152,044 rooms, up 15 percent in projects and 18 percent in rooms year over year. Conversions and renovations totaled 2,097 projects with 255,834 rooms, up 7 percent year over year.
Approximately 277 hotels with 31,416 rooms opened in the first half of 2026, with another 384 hotels with 43,404 rooms expected in the second half. The full-year total is projected at 661 hotels with 74,820 rooms, representing 1.3 percent supply growth.
LE forecasts 738 hotel openings with 78,909 rooms in 2027, for 1.4 percent supply growth. It also debuted its first 2028 forecast, projecting 832 hotel openings with 88,321 rooms and 1.5 percent supply growth.
At the market level, LE's U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report recently found Dallas led U.S. markets with 184 projects totaling 22,861 rooms in the construction pipeline at the end of the first quarter. The city also posted double-digit growth in projects under construction.
