The projected openings would represent a 1.5% increase in national hotel supply and continue the expansion expected during 2026 and 2027.
According to LE’s Q2 2026 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report, the national hotel development pipeline stood at 5,975 projects with 703,001 rooms at the end of the second quarter. Of the total, 1,081 projects comprising 133,216 rooms were under construction midway through 2026. A further 2,147 projects with 245,871 rooms were scheduled to begin construction within the following 12 months. Meanwhile, the early planning stage contained 2,747 projects and 323,914 rooms.
Upper midscale and upscale hotels continued to account for the largest shares of the U.S. construction pipeline by both project and room count.
The upper midscale segment comprised 2,225 projects with 214,027 rooms, while the upscale segment included 1,282 projects and 159,252 rooms. Combined, the two chain scales represented 59% of all projects and 53% of all rooms in the national pipeline. The luxury segment reached a record project total during the second quarter, with 103 projects and 25,496 rooms. This represented year-on-year increases of 12% in projects and 21% in rooms. The upper upscale segment also reached a record level, with 367 projects comprising 65,021 rooms in the pipeline.
New project announcements during the second quarter totalled 280 projects with 33,423 rooms. Project numbers increased by 18% year on year, while room counts rose by 23%.
Construction starts reached 176 projects and 20,056 rooms, representing annual increases of 14% in projects and 17% in rooms.
Hotel conversion activity reached a record level during the quarter, with 1,567 projects and 152,044 rooms in the pipeline. These figures were 15% and 18% higher, respectively, than in the same period of 2025. Conversions and renovation projects combined accounted for 2,097 projects with 255,834 rooms. The combined number of projects increased by 7% year on year.
During the first half of 2026, 277 new hotels with 31,416 rooms opened in the United States.
Lodging Econometrics expects a further 384 hotels comprising 43,404 rooms to open during the remainder of the year. This would bring the full-year total to 661 new hotels with 74,820 rooms and generate a projected hotel supply growth rate of 1.3% in 2026.
For 2027, LE forecasts the opening of 738 hotels with 78,909 rooms, representing a 1.4% increase in national supply. The newly released 2028 forecast projects a further rise to 832 hotel openings and 88,321 rooms, increasing the expected annual supply growth rate to 1.5%.
Tags: Lodging Econometrics United States
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