China’s Hotel Pipeline Reaches 3,588 Projects as 2026 Openings Rise :: Hospitality Trends

China Hotel Construction Pipeline

China’s hotel construction pipeline stood at 3,588 projects containing 632,256 rooms at the end of the second quarter of 2026, according to Lodging Econometrics’ Q2 2026 China Construction Pipeline Trend Report.

The total includes hotels at several stages of development. Projects already under construction represented the largest share of the pipeline, with 2,547 projects and 442,737 rooms. A further 343 projects, containing 57,665 rooms, were scheduled to begin construction within the following 12 months.

Early planning activity also increased from a year earlier. The report counted 698 projects in early planning, totaling 131,854 rooms. That represented a year-over-year increase of 4% in project numbers and 3% in room numbers.

Construction starts increased during the quarter. Lodging Econometrics reported 205 projects with 30,394 rooms beginning construction in the second quarter, up 7% year over year by project count. The figures indicate that development activity continued across both active construction and earlier planning phases.

Upper Midscale and Upscale Segments

Upper midscale hotels accounted for the largest project total in China’s construction pipeline. The segment reached 1,287 projects with 188,175 rooms, a record level for the chain scale. Compared with the prior year, the upper midscale pipeline increased by 7% in projects and by 3% in rooms.

The upscale chain scale also reached a record number of projects. It included 1,087 projects and 219,168 rooms at the close of the second quarter.

Together, the upper midscale and upscale segments accounted for 2,374 projects and 407,343 rooms. This represented 66% of all projects and 64% of all rooms in the national pipeline. The combined number of projects in the two segments rose 4% from a year earlier.

The concentration of activity in these categories indicates that they account for most of the hotel supply currently being planned or built in China. The report did not provide a breakdown of project counts for other chain scales in the material provided.

Renovations and Brand Conversions

Hotel renovations and brand conversions reached a record combined project total in the second quarter. There were 265 renovation or conversion projects, accounting for 45,733 rooms. The project total was 24% higher than a year earlier, while the room total increased 18%.

Brand conversions accounted for most of this work. The report identified 245 conversion projects with 39,431 rooms, representing 92% of the combined total for renovations and conversions. Both the number of conversion projects and their room count reached record levels in the report.

Conversions can involve existing hotels joining a different brand or operating under a new brand affiliation. The figures reported by Lodging Econometrics show that this activity accounted for a substantial share of China’s hotel renovation and repositioning pipeline during the quarter.

Largest City Pipelines

Chengdu had the largest hotel development pipeline by project count at the end of the second quarter. The city had 127 projects with 22,785 rooms.

Guangzhou ranked second by project count, with 120 projects and 24,633 rooms. Its room total was higher than Chengdu’s, despite having fewer projects.

Shanghai’s pipeline included 109 projects and 20,342 rooms. Hangzhou followed with 95 projects and 17,708 rooms, while Beijing had 81 projects containing 13,073 rooms.

These five cities were identified as having the largest hotel pipelines in China at the close of the quarter. Their project totals reflect the concentration of development activity in major urban markets.

2026 Hotel Opening Forecast

Through the first half of 2026, China opened 500 new hotels with a combined 69,422 rooms, according to the report.

Lodging Econometrics forecasts that another 631 hotels with 92,243 rooms would open during the third and fourth quarters. If those openings occur as projected, China would add 1,131 hotels and 161,665 rooms over the full 2026 calendar year.

The forecasted openings include hotels completed during the first half and those expected to open during the remainder of the year. The report’s figures show that new supply, active construction, early planning, and conversion projects were all significant parts of China’s hotel development activity in the second quarter of 2026.