Hotel Construction Pipeline Steady in Q4 2025

Portsmouth, NH, January 26, 2026-Hotel construction in the United States closed the fourth quarter of 2025 with a total pipeline of 6,146 projects and 720,089 rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics’ (LE’s) latest Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report.

The U.S. hotel pipeline shows steady activity across all project stages. Projects currently under construction total 1,088, comprising 134,380 rooms. Looking ahead, there are 2,175 projects with 253,750 rooms scheduled to start construction within the next 12 months. Projects in the early planning stage account for the majority of the projects in the active pipeline, closing the quarter with 2,883 projects and 331,959 rooms.

By chain scale, upper midscale hotels continue to lead the pipeline with 2,275 projects and 218,526 rooms. Upscale hotels follow with 1,336 projects and 167,316 rooms. The midscale segment maintained stability at Q4 with 956 projects and 80,260 rooms. Luxury hotels in the

U.S. hotel construction pipeline showed positive year-end growth, reaching a record 95 projects with 22,045 rooms.

New project announcements during the fourth quarter of 2025 totaled 285 new projects with 32,358 rooms entering the pipeline. Construction starts throughout the year stand at 668 total projects, comprising 78,530 rooms, of which 148 projects comprising 17,623 rooms broke new ground in Q4.

Brand conversions in the pipeline experienced notable growth at the Q4 close, reaching a record high of 1,497 projects with 148,981 rooms, marking a 12% year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and 16% YOY growth in rooms. Hotel renovations in the U.S. remained relatively unchanged at Q4 with 621 projects comprising 129,647 rooms. However, together, renovation and conversion projects represent a significant portion of hotel development activity, reaching a new record-high totaling 2,118 projects with 278,628 rooms.

New hotel openings in 2025 reached 640 with 74,079 rooms in the U.S., expanding the nation’s hotel supply (census) by 1.3% at year-end. Lodging Econometrics forecasts continued growth in the years ahead, with 708 new hotels and 80,034 rooms expected to open in 2026, for a 1.4% increase in supply. LE analysts expect accelerated growth in new hotel openings again in 2027 with 824 new hotels and 88,095 rooms scheduled to open by year-end, for a 1.5% anticipated expansion in the national hotel census.