According to the Q2 2026 U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the second quarter, there were 5,975 projects with 703,001 rooms in the pipeline.
Midway through 2026, there were 1,081 projects comprising 133,216 rooms under construction. Projects slated to start construction anytime within the next 12 months totaled 2,147, comprising 245,871 rooms. Projects and room counts in the early planning stage stood at 2,747 projects and 323,914 rooms.
LE analysts reported that the upper midscale and upscale chain scales continued to lead the total U.S. construction pipeline with the greatest number of projects and rooms. The upper midscale chain scale stood at 2,225 projects/214,027 rooms and the upscale chain scale at 1,282 projects/159,252 rooms. Together, these two chain scales comprised 59 percent of all projects and 53 percent of all rooms in the total pipeline.
Additional Findings
The luxury chain scale reached a record-high project total in the second quarter with 103 projects/25,496 rooms, up 12 percent in projects and 21 percent in rooms year-over-year (YOY). The upper upscale chain scale also hit a record high in the second quarter of 2026, reaching 367 projects/65,021 rooms.
New project announcements (NPAs) in Q2 totaled 280 projects/33,423 rooms, up 18 percent in projects and 23 percent in rooms year over year. Construction starts reached 176 projects/20,056 rooms, up 14 percent in projects and 17 percent in rooms year over year. Conversions hit a record high in the second quarter, with 1,567 projects/152,044 rooms in the pipeline, up 15 percent in projects and 18 percent in rooms YOY. Together, hotel conversions and renovations represented 2,097 projects/255,834 rooms, with combined project counts up 7 percent year over year.
According to LE analysts, 277 new hotels with 31,416 rooms opened in the U.S. during the first and second quarters of 2026. The LE forecast for the remainder of 2026 included the opening of another 384 projects with 43,404 rooms, totaling 661 new hotels with 74,820 rooms by year-end for a 1.3 percent growth rate.
Forecast
Looking ahead to 2027, LE analysts anticipate 738 new hotels/78,909 rooms to open for a 1.4 percent growth rate.
Announcing for the first time, LE’s U.S. New Hotel Openings Forecast for 2028 estimated 832 projects/88,321 rooms to open in the U.S., for a growth rate of 1.5 percent and marking continued growth in the industry.
