DFW Leads Nation in Hotel Development

Dallas-Fort Worth is bursting at the seams with hotel projects, shedding light on the region’s rapid growth and increasing popularity as a travel destination.

The Dallas area had over 22,000 hotel rooms in the development pipeline, across a record-breaking 193 projects, at the end of 2023, leading the nation, the Dallas Morning News reported, citing data from Lodging Econometrics.

Fourteen hotel projects were added to the pipeline in the fourth quarter alone, contributing more than 1,700 rooms to the growing list.

Eighteen hotels with 2,333 rooms are slated to open in Dallas-Fort Worth this year.

Dallas has been a powerhouse in hotel development for several years.

DFW’s hotel development scene signifies “robust growth and confidence in the hospitality sector,” Lodging Econometrics analysts wrote.

Atlanta has the second-most hotel projects in the pipeline with 150, and Nashville and Phoenix follow, with about 120 projects each.

The hospitality sector bounced back big time in 2023, as leisure travel edged closer to pre-pandemic levels. Developers and hotel firms are playing catch up after construction delays.

Nationwide, 1,118 hotel projects, totalling almost 142,000 rooms, were under construction through the fourth quarter, marking an 11 percent year-over-year increase, the outlet reported. Another 2,000 hotels were undergoing renovations at year end.

As the Federal Reserve plans interest rate cuts over the next two years, hotel developments are expected to continue spouting up, according to Lodging Econometrics.

Among several large-scale hotel projects in the works, the Arlington City Council and Loews Hotels are in talks to build a 500-room hotel with a minimum of 25,000 square feet of convention space.

A $750 million Four Seasons Hotel and condominium tower is also on the way, in Dallas’ Turtle Creek neighborhood.

—Quinn Donoghue