According to LE’s Q3 2026 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report, 1,094 projects with 137,371 rooms were under construction at quarter-end. A further 2,175 projects, representing 246,793 rooms, were scheduled to start construction within the following 12 months, while 2,632 projects with 308,835 rooms remained in early planning.
During the third quarter, construction starts totalled 152 projects and 19,106 rooms. New project announcements reached 195 projects, representing 22,016 rooms.
Which projects reach record levels?
LE analysts reported that the luxury chain scale reached record highs for both projects and rooms at the end of Q3. The segment recorded 108 projects and 25,776 rooms, representing year-on-year increases of 14% in projects and 19% in rooms.
The upper upscale chain scale also reached a record project count, with 375 projects and 66,028 rooms, up 3% in projects year on year.
Upper midscale remained the largest segment by project count, with 2,206 projects and 211,553 rooms. Upscale followed with 1,257 projects and 157,225 rooms. Together, these two chain scales accounted for 66% of projects and 63% of rooms in the total U.S. hotel construction pipeline.
The midscale segment stood at 918 projects and 76,487 rooms at the close of the quarter.
Extended stay represents 40% of projects
Extended-stay development totalled 2,352 projects and 236,219 rooms at Q3, accounting for 40% of all projects and 34% of rooms in the U.S. pipeline.
Middle-tier extended-stay brands made up the largest share of the segment, with 1,628 projects and 152,287 rooms. These properties represented 28% of all projects in the U.S. pipeline and 69% of the extended-stay pipeline.
Upper-tier extended-stay development accounted for 575 projects and 66,866 rooms, while the lower-tier segment comprised 149 projects and 17,066 rooms.
Of all extended-stay projects, 424 projects with 44,689 rooms were under construction at the end of Q3. Another 1,006 projects, representing 102,999 rooms, were scheduled to start construction over the next 12 months. That pipeline segment increased year on year by 2% in projects and 1% in rooms.
A further 922 extended-stay projects, with 88,531 rooms, were in early planning.
Renovations, brand conversions and shared-site development
Brand conversion activity across the U.S. hotel pipeline stood at 1,516 projects and 146,544 rooms, up 3% in project numbers year on year. Combined with 525 renovation projects representing 105,365 rooms, the total renovation and brand conversion pipeline reached 2,041 projects and 251,909 rooms.
Shared-site development also accounted for a substantial part of the pipeline. At Q3, there were 1,506 shared-site projects with 149,303 rooms. A shared site refers to a single property where more than one hotel or lodging brand operates within a shared development.
Of these projects, 264, representing 29,021 rooms, were under construction. A further 607 projects with 58,364 rooms will start construction within the next 12 months, while 635 projects and 61,918 rooms were in early planning. Upper midscale hotels accounted for the largest share of shared-site projects, at 44%.
New hotel openings forecast through 2028
Through the end of the third quarter, 407 new hotels with 46,031 rooms had opened in the United States. LE expected another 191 projects, representing 22,160 rooms, to open by the end of 2026.
Based on these figures, LE forecasts that 2026 will close with 598 new hotels and 68,191 rooms, equivalent to a 1.2% increase in supply.
For 2027, analysts forecast 668 new hotels with 72,667 rooms, representing a 1.3% increase in supply. In 2028, the forecast rises to 775 new hotels and 86,377 rooms, corresponding to a 1.5% increase.
The Q3 figures show a U.S. hotel development pipeline with substantial activity in extended stay, alongside record project counts in the luxury and upper upscale segments. Planned openings are also expected to increase through 2028, according to LE’s projections.