Source: Lodging Econometrics
The number of U.S. hotel openings projected through 2012 now stands at downwardly-revised 1,775, according to Lodging Econometrics’ third-quarter trends report, which attributed the sluggish performance to a continued lack of construction financing. Currently, there are a record-low 487 hotel projects, with a total of 62,041 rooms, under construction nationwide, the report says, while the number of hotel projects scheduled to begin construction in the next 12 months — 1,218 — is at the lowest level seen since 2004. Lodging Econometrics expects that as a result of the dismal construction numbers, new hotel openings between 2011 and 2013 will be at their lowest rates since the early 1990s. That downward trend will continue “for the foreseeable future… albeit at a slower pace,” LE said. But while that’s disappointing for developers, it’s good news for hotel operators already in business, who are in the midst of efforts to recover from the recession’s low occupancy rates and room rate declines and won’t be faced with competition from much new inventory. TRD