U.S. Leads Global Hotel Construction Pipeline

Portsmouth, NH, August 19, 2026—The Q2 2026 Global Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE) reveals that the global hotel construction pipeline reaches a new all-time high project count with 15,976 projects/2,433,948 rooms.

There are 6,174 projects/1,043,290 rooms currently under construction worldwide at Q2 2026. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 3,743 projects/530,326 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage reach record highs, standing at 6,059 projects/860,332 rooms, showing a 5% increase in projects and an 8% increase in rooms YOY.

Globally, 974 new project announcements (NPAs), totaling 138,743 rooms, were made in the second quarter, while 602 projects totaling 83,232 rooms began construction.

The global brand conversion pipeline reaches record highs with 2,927 projects/351,257 rooms, up 12% by projects and 17% by rooms YOY. Combined hotel renovations and brand conversions stand at 3,760 projects/521,849 rooms, up 8% by projects and 5% by rooms YOY.

The luxury chain scale reaches record highs with 1,385 projects/257,947 rooms, up 8% by projects and 3% by rooms YOY. The upper upscale chain scale also achieves record highs with 1,923 projects/396,483 rooms, increasing 8% by projects and 4% by rooms YOY. The upscale chain scale reaches record high project totals of 3,918 projects/659,976 rooms, up 1% by projects YOY, while the upper midscale chain scale reaches record high project totals of 4,632 projects/578,432 rooms, up 3% by projects YOY.

The top countries by project count continue to be led by the United States with 5,975 projects/703,001 rooms. China follows with 3,588 projects/632,256 rooms. The United States represents 37% of the projects in the total global pipeline, while China accounts for 22%, resulting in 59% of all global projects in these two countries. Notable growth is seen in India, which reaches record highs with 1,033 projects/137,601 rooms, showing remarkable increases of 36% in projects and 39% in rooms YOY. Saudi Arabia also reaches record highs with 387 projects/105,648 rooms, up 13% by projects and 15% by rooms YOY. Canada reaches record high project and room totals with 345 projects/47,874 rooms, up 4% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY.

The cities with the greatest number of projects in the hotel construction pipeline are led by Dallas with 183 projects/22,840 rooms. Atlanta follows with 157 projects/17,423 rooms. Next is the international city of Chengdu, which ranks third with 127 projects/22,785 rooms, followed by Nashville with 122 projects/16,281 rooms, and Guangzhou which rounds out the top five with 120 projects/24,633 rooms.

Regional record-highs continue across the globe. Asia Pacific overall reaches record high project totals with 6,094 projects/1,085,228 rooms, up 4% by projects YOY, and the Asia Pacific region (excluding China) reaches record high project and room totals with 2,506 projects/452,972 rooms, up 17% by projects and 11% by rooms YOY. The Middle East reaches record high project totals with 724 projects/178,003 rooms, up 11% by projects YOY. Africa also reaches record high project and room totals with 343 projects/52,526 rooms, up 15% by projects and 16% by rooms YOY.

For the full year 2025, 2,438 new hotels opened worldwide, accounting for 332,699 rooms. LE analysts forecast 2,742 new hotels/379,921 rooms to open by year-end 2026. Looking further ahead, LE forecasts 2,590 new hotels/389,412 rooms to open in 2027. For the first time, LE is announcing its 2028 new hotel openings forecast, projecting 2,499 new hotels/361,430 rooms to open globally that year.