hotel industry expecting 2018 construction boom

Active hotel construction projects are enjoying new growth, with more than 12,600 projects underway globally, comprising a more than 6 percent increase in such projects over 2017.

According to the Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report, published by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Lodging Econometrics, Marriott International is leading the way this year with more than 2,400 construction projects, representing nearly 401,000 rooms.

Second up is Hilton Worldwide Holdings with 2,100 projects for a total of 315,600 new rooms.

The country by far with the most hotel construction projects is the U.S., with 5,100 projects equaling 623,000 new rooms.

A distant second is China with 2,500 projects and 560,000 rooms.

In the U.S., New York currently is seeing some 180 hotel construction projects representing 30,600 rooms. Dallas and Houston come in second and third, with 149 and 146 projects respectively, for a total of 55,000 new rooms.

In February, Lodging Econometric reported that extended stay hotels accounted for 27 percent of all new hotel construction projects nationally.

That segment is growing from 239 new hotels in 2017 to an expected 332 by the end of this year.

By Garry Boulard