September 6, 2019 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – According to the recent report from analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE), Asia Pacific’s total construction pipeline, excluding China, is at an all-time high and stands at 1,793 projects/393,732 rooms, up 3% and 7% respectively, year-over-year (YOY). The pipeline continues in a topping out formation despite slowing economies in the region and growth uncertainties in neighboring China.
Asia Pacific, excluding China, currently has 972 projects under construction with a record high room count of 225,896. There are 405 projects with 81,592 rooms scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months and 416 projects in the early planning stage with room counts at an all-time high of 86,244 rooms.
In the first half of 2019, the Asia Pacific region had 154 new hotels/25,227 rooms open. LE forecasts that another 240 new hotels with 45,141 rooms will open in the second half of 2019. Japan will dominate the 2019 regional forecast with 36% of total new hotel openings in preparation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 summer Olympics. New hotel openings will continue to climb in 2020 to an all-time high of 394 projects/80,041 rooms before dipping to 326 hotels/66,989 rooms scheduled to open in 2021.
Countries with the largest pipelines in Asia Pacific, excluding China, are led by Indonesia, with 378 projects/63,196 rooms, accounting for 21% of Asia Pacific’s total pipeline. Next is India with 238 projects/34,966 rooms, then Japan with 226 projects/47,294 rooms. These countries are followed by Malaysia with 138 projects with an all-time high record count of 37,760 rooms, followed by Vietnam with 136 projects/57,050 rooms.
Asia Pacific cities with the largest construction pipelines are led by Jakarta, Indonesia with 88 projects/16,112 rooms. Next is Seoul, South Korea with 72 projects/13,646 rooms and Tokyo, Japan with 58 projects/15,724 rooms. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia follows with 55 projects/14,801 rooms and Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe, Japan with 46 projects/11,456 rooms.
The top four franchise companies, accounting for 42% of all rooms in the pipeline are: AccorHotels with 250 projects/53,050 rooms; Marriott International with 245 projects/54,934 rooms; InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), at a record high 160 projects/35,746 rooms; and Hilton Worldwide, at an all-time high, with 88 projects/19,894 rooms.
Top brands in Asia Pacific’s construction pipeline, excluding China, include AccorHotels’ Ibis brands with 64 projects/12,341 rooms and Novotel with 46 projects/10,930 rooms. Marriott International’s two top brands are hitting record highs with Fairfield Inn at 37 projects/5,726 rooms and Courtyard at 36 projects/7,669 rooms. IHG’s Holiday Inn has a record 62 projects having 14,237 rooms and Holiday Inn Express has 36 projects/7,709 rooms, while Hilton Worldwide’s DoubleTree has 30 projects/6,090 rooms and the full-service Hilton Hotel & Resorts is also at a record high with 29 projects/7,691 rooms.
