The U.S. hotel construction pipeline is showing a steady increase in activity, as highlighted in the Q2 2025 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE). At the end of the second quarter, there were 6,280 projects encompassing 737,036 rooms in the pipeline, reflecting a 3% year-over-year (YOY) increase in both projects and rooms compared to Q2 2024.
Currently, 1,120 projects with 138,776 rooms are under construction. Projects slated to begin construction within the next 12 months total 2,263, comprising 260,052 rooms. Despite a slight YOY decrease in projects and rooms under construction, the early planning stage saw a 13% increase in projects and a 14% increase in rooms, totaling 2,897 projects and 338,208 rooms.
Chain Scale Contributions
Chain scales play a crucial role in driving the growth of the hotel construction pipeline. The upper midscale chain scale leads with 2,282 projects and 219,875 rooms, making it the largest contributor among chain scales. The upscale chain scale follows with 1,427 projects and 177,756 rooms. Combined, these two chain scales account for 59% of all projects in the pipeline.
The upper upscale chain scale experienced an 11% increase in projects YOY, reaching 360 projects and 67,680 rooms. Meanwhile, the midscale chain scale showed a 6% increase in projects, totaling 949 projects and 79,435 rooms.
Extended-Stay Brands’ Dominance
Extended-stay brands continue to dominate the pipeline, accounting for 38% of projects under construction, 43% of those scheduled to begin within the next 12 months, and 37% in the early planning stage. The total extended-stay pipeline stands at 2,473 projects and 252,028 rooms, showing a 3% increase in projects and a 2% increase in rooms YOY.
Middle-tier extended-stay brands lead this segment with 1,625 projects and 152,557 rooms, marking a 6% increase in projects and a 5% increase in rooms YOY. Upper-tier extended-stay brands account for 670 projects and 79,103 rooms, while lower-tier brands comprise 178 projects and 20,368 rooms.
Development Activity and Future Forecast
In the first two quarters of 2025, 329 new hotels with 39,628 rooms opened in the U.S. New project announcements in Q2 totaled 237 projects and 27,101 rooms, while construction starts reached 155 projects and 17,169 rooms.
Renovations and brand conversions are also significant, with 1,956 projects and 259,495 rooms announced. Conversions showed strong growth, with a YOY increase of 11% in both projects and rooms.
LE’s forecast for the remainder of 2025 anticipates the opening of 406 additional projects with 45,160 rooms, culminating in 735 new hotels with 84,788 rooms by year-end. This represents a 1.5% growth rate and a 25% increase over 2024. Looking ahead, 2026 is expected to see the opening of 823 new hotels with 89,073 rooms, a 1.6% growth rate. For 2027, LE forecasts 902 projects and 96,242 rooms to open, marking a continued supply growth of 1.7%.
