Europe and Asia Pacific show increased hotel pipeline activity


Two of the four world regions, Europe and Asia Pacific, showed an increase in hotel pipeline activity at the end of the third quarter, according to September 2021 data from STR.

Two of the four world regions, Europe and Asia Pacific, showed an increase in hotel pipeline activity at the end of the third quarter, according to September 2021 data from STR, which provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry.
 
September 2021 (% changes in comparison with September 2020)
 
Europe
In Construction: 230,265 rooms (+6.6%)
Final Planning: 171,988 rooms (+5.9%)
Planning: 148,565 rooms (-4.8%)
Total Under Contract: 550,818 (+3.1%)
Germany (46,494) and the U.K. (35,196) lead Europe in total rooms in construction. 
 
Asia Pacific
In Construction: 478,193 rooms (0.0%)
Final Planning: 178,195 rooms (+5.3%)
Planning: 288,227 rooms (+16.0%)
Total Under Contract: 944,615 rooms (+5.4%)
Among countries in the region, China has the most rooms in construction (295,989), followed by Vietnam (29,178). 
 
Middle East & Africa
In Construction: 135,217 rooms (-7.6%)
Final Planning: 40,539 rooms (-16.6%)
Planning: 62,679 rooms (-0.6%)
Total Under Contract: 238,435 (-7.8%)
Saudi Arabia (42,008) and UAE (34,935) lead in construction activity.  
 
Americas
In Construction: 228,662 rooms (-16.6%)
Final Planning: 247,381 rooms (-15.9%)
Planning: 301,333 rooms (+36.1%)
Total Under Contract: 777,376 (-1.6%)
The U.S. holds the majority of rooms in construction in the region. In addition to the U.S., Mexico (14,763) and Brazil (7,680) have the highest number of rooms in construction in the region.
 
The number of U.S. hotel rooms in construction is down roughly 48,000 from the country’s all-time high in April 2020 (220,207 rooms).
 
The final two phases of the pipeline, construction and final planning, are down by double digits from the same time last year while activity in the planning stage has risen significantly.
 
STR’s senior director of consulting Alison Hoyt said: “The impacts of the pandemic and the associated financial bearings have reached the hotel development pipeline, as the number of rooms in the construction phase continues to decline. While part of the decrease has come from fewer rooms entering and moving through the pipeline, new openings that were delayed by the pandemic also account for some of the loss. 
 
"For 2021 as a whole, we’re looking at a higher-than-average influx of new rooms, assuming properties with projected opening dates over the final months of the year open on time. It is more likely that at least some of the projects nearing completion will be delayed to 2022 openings.”-TradeArabia News Service