DALLAS LEADS THE top five U.S. markets in the largest construction pipeline as of the first quarter of 2024, according to Lodging Econometrics. The Dallas market has 185 projects with 21,882 rooms, slightly below the record highs at the close of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Next came Atlanta, with 153 projects comprising 17,929 rooms, then Nashville with 127 projects and 16,199 rooms, as LE’s U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report showed. Phoenix followed with 123 projects and 16,198 rooms, and the Inland Empire in Southern California set a new record high with 121 projects and 12,324 rooms.
U.S. markets with the most projects already under construction by the end of the first quarter include New York with 47 projects and 7,655 rooms, Dallas with 25 projects and 3,059 rooms, and Nashville with 22 projects and 2,828 rooms. Atlanta had 21 projects and 2,588 rooms, and the Inland Empire currently has 20 projects and 2,181 rooms under construction.
Upcoming project starts
Dallas leads with the most projects scheduled to start in the next 12 months, boasting 77 projects and 9,269 rooms, followed by Atlanta with 56 projects and 6,656 rooms; Phoenix with 56 projects and 6,853 rooms; the Inland Empire with 54 projects and 5,369 rooms; and Nashville with 49 projects and 6,600 rooms, LE said.
Nationally, early-planning project and room counts reached a new all-time high of 2,662 projects and 300,686 rooms, the report added. Dallas led the U.S. with the largest number of projects in early planning, totaling 83 projects and 9,554 rooms at the end of the first quarter. Atlanta followed with 76 projects and 8,685 rooms. Nashville came next with 56 projects and 6,771 rooms; Austin with 51 projects and 5,608 rooms; and Orlando with 49 projects and 11,442 rooms.
Announcements, renovations and conversions
Among the top 25 U.S. markets, a total of 105 new pipeline projects, comprising 10,219 rooms, were announced during the first quarter of 2024, according to LE. Leading for new project announcements are New York with 12 projects and 1,660 rooms, Orlando with 11 projects and 2,706 rooms, Atlanta with 10 projects and 1,139 rooms, Denver with eight projects and 2,013 rooms, and the Inland Empire with eight projects and 886 rooms.
Renovation and brand conversion activity continued to increase throughout the U.S. in the first quarter, with approximately 2,041 projects and 266,405 rooms in the renovation/conversion pipeline.
Los Angeles had the largest count of combined renovation and conversion projects with 31 projects and 4,857 rooms in the first quarter, LE report showed. New York, Atlanta, and Chicago followed, each with 30 projects and accounting for 8,020 rooms, 3,488 rooms, and 8,128 rooms, respectively. Meanwhile, Phoenix had 28 projects and 5,100 rooms under renovation and conversion at the close of the first quarter.
Approximately 114 new hotels and 15,506 rooms opened in the U.S. in the first quarter, with 60 hotels and 10,036 rooms opening in the top 50 markets. LE forecasts these same 50 markets to open an additional 255 projects/30,502 rooms over the next three quarters, totaling 315 projects/40,538 rooms in 2024.
NYC tops 2024 hotel openings
New York City led the new hotel openings chart in 2024, with 26 new hotels expected to open with 2,910 rooms, followed by Dallas with 16 new hotels and 2,013 rooms, Inland Empire with 15 new hotels and 1,559 rooms, Atlanta with 14 new hotels and 2,732 rooms, and Orlando with 13 new hotels and 2,364 rooms.
LE analysts expect Atlanta and Dallas to lead new hotel openings in the 2025 forecast, with 20 hotels each, comprising 2,141 rooms and 2,092 rooms, respectively. Houston followed with 19 new hotels and 1,962 rooms. Phoenix and New York round out the top markets with 18 new hotels and 2,912 rooms, and 17 hotels and 2,906 rooms, respectively.
LE recently reported that the U.S. construction pipeline reached a record high in the first quarter of 2024, with 6,065 hotels and 702,990 rooms, reflecting a 9 percent increase in hotels and a 7 percent rise in rooms compared to the previous year.
