Asia Pacific Hotel Construction Pipeline Soars to New Heights in Q3, 2024

Hotel construction in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, reached an all-time high in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, per the latest Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE). By the end of Q3, the total number of hotel projects in the pipeline stood at 2,072, with a combined 410,863 rooms, marking year-over-year increases of 7% and 3%, respectively.

The report further details that 848 projects with 197,576 rooms are currently under construction, and 354 projects with 64,571 rooms are scheduled to commence within the next 12 months. Early-stage planned projects reached a high of 870, with 148,716 rooms, showing a year-over-year increase of 28% and 18%, respectively.

Upper upscale, upscale, and upper-midscale chains account for 61% of projects and 64% of rooms in the pipeline. The upscale chain scale dominates the Q3 pipeline with 510 projects and 101,067 rooms. The upper midscale chain scale reported 388 projects and 79,773 rooms, while the upper upscale chain scale disclosed 372 projects and 82,130 rooms. The luxury chain scale sector also reported new highs, closing the quarter at 310 projects and 60,131 rooms.

India led the region with the most hotel projects in the pipeline at Q3, with 641 projects and 79,648 rooms. This represents 31% of total projects and 19% of rooms in the region’s pipeline. Other leading countries include Vietnam, with 252 projects and 88,489 rooms; Indonesia, with 179 projects and 31,801 rooms; Thailand, with 161 projects and 40,770 rooms; and Japan, with 150 projects and 27,461 rooms.

The cities with the largest pipelines in the third quarter were Bangkok, Thailand, with 69 projects and 15,960 rooms; Jakarta, Indonesia, with 42 projects and 9,345 rooms; Melbourne, Australia, with 38 projects and 6,961 rooms; Phuket, Thailand, with 36 projects and 9,139 rooms; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 30 projects and 8,493 rooms.

In Q3, the region opened 66 new hotels with 11,524 rooms, resulting in 204 new hotels and 36,483 rooms for 2024. LE forecasts an additional 135 new hotels with 26,848 rooms to open for the remainder of the year. The forecast for new hotel openings in 2025 and 2026 is 339 new hotels with 72,518 rooms and 337 with 65,668 rooms, respectively.