US sees bump in new hotel rooms under construction, drop in Miami: STR

Miami Beach
An aerial view of Miami Beach's hotels

More hotel rooms were under construction across the United States in November compared to the same month last year, 21.1 percent more, to be exact.

Nearly 555,000 rooms in 4,570 projects were “under contract” in the country as of November 2016, according to hotel lodging research firm STR. Under contract means they are either under construction or in the planning stages. More than 47 percent of all rooms under construction are in the top 26 markets ranked by existing supply, the report said.

In the Miami/Hialeah market, it’s a different story. The market saw a 6.7 percent drop in hotel rooms under contract, from 3,430 in November 2015 to 3,199 last month. Despite the decline, Miami ranked 10th among markets with the most rooms under construction.

Miami’s construction pipeline represents nearly 5.9 percent of the region’s existing 54,447 rooms, the data shows. New York, Seattle and Denver’s construction pipelines represent more than 10 percent of their existing supplies.

Here’s a breakdown:

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NAME400 Fifth AvenuePRICE RANGEFrom $1,140,000 to $12,206,000
ADDRESS400 Fifth AvenueSIZE RANGEFrom 464 Sq Ft to 3,590 Sq Ft
TYPENew BuildingAVG PPSF$2,691
TOTAL UNITS184TAX ABATEMENTYes
DEVELOPERBizzi & Partners DevelopmentAVG COMMON CHARGE$1.48/sf
BROKERDouglas EllimanFINISHED BYComplete

More than 9,100 new keys are planned for Miami, according to an analysis done by The Real Deal in September (including planned and proposed projects, and hotels under construction). The largest of these projects, the Marriott Marquis planned as part of the Miami Worldcenter development in downtown Miami, would add a whopping 1,800 rooms.

Yet weekly, year-over-year occupancy and rates have been on the decline recently, according to STR. For the week ending Dec. 3, the Miami/Hialeah area reported that revenue per available room fell 13.4 percent, year-over-year, to $197.58 and the available daily rate dropped 10.1 percent $250.16. It was the only double-digit dip among the top 25 markets STR tracks.

Industry leaders have cited the Zika virus and Airbnb as reasons for lower occupancy rates in recent months, in addition to the Brazilian recession. The hotel industry has called for increased regulation of companies like Airbnb. Just this week, the city of Miami Beach voted to tighten regulations for condominium owners and condo-hotels in the zoning districts where short-term rentals are allowed.

In 2015, the U.S. saw 773 hotels with 85,000 rooms open, a 36 percent increase from the year before. STR reported earlier this year that national hotel sales volume was expected to top $25 billion. Hotel openings this year in South Florida have included East, Hotel at Brickell City Centre, SLS Brickell, the Langford Hotel, the Hilton West Palm and the Marriott Residence Inn Surfside. – Katherine Kallergis