As seen in the Q1 2024 Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the total pipeline in the Asia Pacific region, excluding China, (APEC) reached a record-breaking project total of 2,021 projects/402,312 rooms. This new all-time high represents a 7% year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and a 2% YOY increase in rooms.
At the close of the first quarter, there are 866 projects/198,267 rooms under construction throughout the region. Additionally, there are 340 projects/65,259 rooms scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months, marking a 13% YOY increase in projects and a 10% increase YOY in rooms. The early planning stage also saw substantial growth, with a record 815 projects totaling 138,786 rooms, reflecting a 27% YOY increase in projects and a 15% YOY increase in rooms.
Standout chain scale segments in the APEC region at the Q1 close include the upscale chain scale with record-high project and room counts of 483 projects and 97,013 rooms, upper upscale, also at record-high project and room counts of 376 projects/83,028 rooms, and the luxury chain scale with a record-high project count of 267 projects/52,346 rooms.
The top three countries in the APEC region by project count at Q1 are India with a record 581 projects/70,178 rooms, Vietnam with 238 projects/85,085 rooms, and Indonesia with 185 projects/31,743 rooms. These three countries account for 50% of the projects in the region’s total pipeline.
APEC cities with the largest pipelines by project count are led by Bangkok, Thailand with 67 projects/15,525 rooms, Jakarta, Indonesia with 46 projects/9,476 rooms, and Melbourne, Australia with 43 projects/8,121 rooms. Phuket, Thailand follows with 37 projects/9,320 rooms, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 32 projects/9,191 rooms.
During the first quarter, 72 new hotels comprising 13,714 rooms opened in the APEC region, with an additional 311 new hotels/60,140 rooms forecast to open in Q2-Q4. LE is forecasting a total of 383 new hotels and 73,854 rooms to open by year-end. Looking ahead to 2025, LE analysts anticipate 365 new hotels and 73,074 rooms to open throughout the APEC region.
