PORTSMOUTH, NH – August 12, 2021 – According to the recent Asia Pacific, excluding China, Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the region’s total construction pipeline dropped to 1,701 projects/364,487 rooms, down 11% by projects and 10% by rooms, year-over-year (YOY). At the end of the second quarter, the region has 852 projects with 195,940 rooms under construction. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 390 projects/73,447 rooms and projects in the early planning stage stand at 459 projects/95,100 rooms.
Countries in the Asia Pacific region continue to face the on-going effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to varying degrees. Some border closures and other travel restrictions have had a significant impact on the region’s economies, which rely heavily on tourism. While breakouts, emerging variants, and slow-to-rollout vaccines have prolonged the road to recovery for many countries in the region, there are positive signs for the industry’s recovery and post-pandemic future, as many developers are optimistic and ready to move forward with long-delayed plans.
Countries with the largest pipelines in the Asia Pacific region, excluding China, are led by Indonesia, with 318 projects/51,197 rooms. India follows with 282 projects/37,617 rooms, then Vietnam with 180 projects/70,135 rooms. Next are Thailand with 135 projects/32,135 rooms and Japan with 133 projects/27,567 rooms. These five countries account for 62% of the pipeline projects in the Asia Pacific region, excluding China.
Asia Pacific markets with the largest construction pipelines are led by Jakarta, Indonesia with 71 projects/12,376 rooms. Next is Seoul, South Korea, with 63 projects/12,300 rooms, and Bangkok, Thailand with 48 projects/12,033 rooms. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia follows with 45 projects/13,406 rooms, and Phuket, Thailand with 30 projects/6,637 rooms.
The top franchise companies in the region, accounting for 47% of guest rooms in the total construction pipeline, are Marriott International with 260 projects/56,159 rooms; Accor with 217 projects/49,819 rooms; InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) at 142 projects/29,154 rooms; and Hilton Worldwide with 90 projects/21,089 rooms; and Hyatt Hotels with 72 projects/14,297 rooms.
Top brands in Asia Pacific’s construction pipeline, excluding China, are IHG’s Holiday Inn at 51 projects/10,229 rooms; Accor’s Novotel and Ibis brands follow with 49 projects/10,879 rooms and 40 projects/7,980 rooms, respectively. Marriott International’s top brands at the close of Q2 are Fairfield Inn with 40 projects/6,334 rooms and Courtyard at 37 projects/7,950 rooms.
Additionally, during the second quarter of 2021, the Asia Pacific region, excluding China, saw 44 new hotels accounting for 7,010 rooms open. The region had 103 new hotels/18,534 rooms open in the first half of the year. There are another 216 new hotels/46,273 rooms expected to open in the second half, bringing the expected total for new hotel openings to 319 new hotels/64,807 rooms by the end of 2021. The LE forecast anticipates new hotel openings to continue ascending with 330 projects/67,241 rooms expected to open in 2022 and 350 projects/64,635 rooms in 2023.
