The Asia Pacific Excluding China (APEC) hotel construction pipeline continued to grow at the end of Q1 2025. According to the Q1 2025 Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics (LE), the total pipeline in the APEC region stood at 2,074 projects and 408,213 rooms. This denotes a 3% annual increase in projects and a 1% increase in rooms.
Construction Status Across the Region
According to the report, 872 projects and 198,640 rooms were under construction at the end of the first quarter, marking a 1% year-on-year (YOY) rise in projects. The number of projects scheduled to commence construction within the next 12 months stood at 328 projects and 66,559 rooms. The early planning stage hit a record-high project total of 874 projects and 143,014 rooms, indicating a 7% YOY increase in projects and a 3% YOY increase in rooms.
Chain Scale Segments Under Spotlight
The report highlighted the upscale chain scale, which reached a new record-high room total of 519 projects and 103,815 rooms, up 9% year over year. Following closely was the upper upscale segment, with 388 projects and 83,070 rooms, a 4% rise in projects and a 2% increase in rooms year over year. Together, these two chain scales represented 44% of projects and 46% of rooms in the region’s total pipeline.
Burgeoning Construction Starts
The first quarter of 2025 saw a considerable surge in construction starts, with 115 projects and 19,855 rooms breaking ground, marking a 55% increase in projects and a 70% increase in rooms YOY. The APEC region also listed 124 new project announcements (NPAs) with 20,181 rooms at the end of the first quarter. The number of combined hotel renovations and brand conversions was reported at 211 projects and 43,230 rooms.
Leading Countries in APEC Region
India took the lead in the APEC region by project count, with a record-high of 693 projects and 88,884 rooms, a 19% rise in projects and a 27% increase in rooms year over year. Other countries in the top five include Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan.
Cities with the Largest Pipelines
Bangkok, Thailand, led the APEC cities with the largest pipelines by project count, with 71 projects and 17,531 rooms. Other cities in the top five include Jakarta, Indonesia; Phuket, Thailand; Melbourne, Australia; and Bengaluru, India.
Hotel Openings and Forecasts
The first quarter witnessed the opening of 65 new hotels comprising 11,151 rooms in the APEC region. LE forecasts an additional 296 new hotels and 58,972 rooms to open throughout 2025, with 361 new hotels and 70,123 rooms expected by year-end. The outlook for 2026 anticipates the opening of 311 new hotels and 63,544 rooms across the APEC region.
