February 16, 2017 – PORTSMOUTH, NH – According to the year-end United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the Total Construction Pipeline ended 2016 with 4,960 Projects/598,688 Rooms, up 12% by projects and 10% by rooms Year-Over-Year (YOY). Q4 2016 is the 19th consecutive quarter of pipeline growth, since the cyclical bottom of 2,720 Projects/331,129 Rooms reported in Q1 2012.
At year-end, there were 1,520 Projects/196,409 Rooms Under Construction, up by 208 projects YOY or 16%. Projects Scheduled to Start in the Next 12 Months, at 2,392 Projects/268,843 Rooms, were up 466 projects, 24%. Projects in Early Planning at 1,048 Projects/133,436 Rooms were down by 127 projects or 11% as some projects are rapidly migrating up the Pipeline towards Construction in anticipation of future interest rate increases. Construction Starts in 2016 at 1,166 Projects/142,563 Rooms were at an 8-year high.
New Project Announcements into the Pipeline during 2015-16 were at the highest levels since 2008, while Conversions were at a 10-year high. Reflecting a modestly improving economy, overall pipeline growth has been moderately up-trending since early 2012. Economic indicators suggest that the Pipeline may continue to grow for at least another two years.
