1,100+ New Hotel Openings Forecast for 2026; Hotel Conversions Hit Record High

PORTSMOUTH, NH – August 5, 2025

In the Q2 2026 China Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the quarter, China’s total hotel construction pipeline stands at 3,588 projects with 632,256 rooms.

Hotel projects under construction at Q2 total 2,547 projects/442,737 rooms, projects scheduled to start construction within the next twelve months close the quarter with 343 projects/57,665 rooms, while projects in early planning rose YOY to total 698 with 131,854 rooms, up 4% by projects and 3% by rooms.

Construction starts also increased in Q2, rising 7% YOY by projects, to close the quarter at 205 projects/30,394 rooms.

The upper midscale chain scale reaches a record high total this quarter, with 1,287 projects/188,175 rooms, up 7% by projects and 3% by rooms YOY. The upscale chain scale also reaches a record-high project count with 1,087 projects/219,168 rooms. Combined, these two chain scales account for 66% of projects and 64% of rooms in China’s hotel construction pipeline, totaling 2,374 projects/407,343 rooms, up 4% by projects YOY.

Combined, hotel renovations and brand conversions in China reach a record-high project total at Q2, increasing 24% YOY by projects and 18% by rooms, with 265 hotels/45,733 rooms. Conversions account for ninety-two percent of this total with a record-high of 245 projects/39,431 rooms.

Cities in China with the largest pipelines, at the Q2 close, are Chengdu, with 127 projects/22,785 rooms; Guangzhou, with 120 projects/24,633 rooms; Shanghai, with 109 projects/20,342 rooms; Hangzhou, with 95 projects/17,708 rooms; and Beijing, with 81 projects/13,073 rooms.

Through the second quarter of 2026, 500 new hotels, accounting for 69,422 rooms, have opened in China. The LE forecast for new hotel openings expects another 631 hotels with 92,243 rooms to open in the third and fourth quarters, bringing the forecasted new hotel openings to 1,131 new hotels with 161,665 rooms by year-end 2026.

LE analysts forecast 890 new hotels with 149,076 rooms to open in 2027 and, for the first time, LE is announcing its 2028 forecast, with analysts projecting 680 new hotel openings with 118,996 rooms to open by year-end.

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