According to the August 2015 STR Pipeline Report there are currently 3,671 hotel projects totaling 439,844 rooms under contract in the United States. That’s 12.4 percent more rooms compared to August 2014. The ‘under contract’ data includes projects in construction, in final planning and in planning stages.
The luxury segment reported the largest year-over-year increase in rooms Under Contract, rising 55.9% to 11,434 rooms. The Economy segment followed with a 40.2% increase to 6,624 rooms. All segments reported a double-digit increase in rooms under construction with the exception of Upper Upscale (+5.1% to 11,537 rooms) and Midscale (-0.3% to 4,438 rooms). Three of the segments reported an increase of more than 30.0%, led by the Luxury segment with a 63.5% increase to 5,927 rooms.
“With the 63.5% year-over-year increase, luxury chains now account for 4.5% of total U.S. hotel room construction compared to just over 3.0% last August,” said Bobby Bowers, STR’s senior VP for operations. “And while the year-over-year percentage changes were not as great, Upscale and Upper Midscale chains continue to dominate room construction with more than two-thirds of the U.S. total.”
