Latin America’s Hotel Construction Pipeline Grows 6% Year-Over-Year with Early Planning Projects Up 12% at Q1 2026

PORTSMOUTH, NH – May 4, 2026

The Q1 2026 Latin America Construction Pipeline Trend Report by Lodging Econometrics (LE) reveals the region’s total hotel construction pipeline stands at 755 projects and 113,663 rooms, marking a 6% increase in projects and a 1% increase in rooms year-over-year (YOY).

At the close of the first quarter, there are 300 projects/50,139 rooms under construction in Latin America, reflecting a 5% YOY increase by projects and a 1% increase by rooms. Additionally, projects scheduled to start construction within the next 12 months stand at 189 projects/28,347 rooms, while those in early planning stand at 266 projects/35,177 rooms, up 12% by projects YOY and 4% by rooms.

Representing a majority of the projects in the current pipeline, noteworthy chain scales in Latin America at the Q1 close include the luxury chain scale with 142 projects/26,590 rooms, the upper midscale chain scale with 139 projects/18,660 rooms, up 28% by projects and 33% by rooms YOY, and the upscale chain scale with 135 projects/19,662 rooms.

Countries in Latin America with the largest number of projects in the pipeline at Q1 are led by Mexico with 247 projects/36,646 rooms, and accounting for 33% of the total projects currently in the construction pipeline in Latin America. Next is Brazil, with 132 projects/18,172 rooms, up 18% by projects and 20% by rooms YOY, and then the Dominican Republic with 84 projects/18,014 rooms, up 8% by projects YOY. These three countries account for 61% of the projects in the total pipeline and 64% of the rooms.

Key cities in Latin America with the largest construction pipelines include Mexico City with 29 projects/3,290 rooms, Lima, Peru with 18 projects/2,402 rooms, and Georgetown, Guyana with 15 projects/2,051 rooms. All three cities show marked percentage increases for projects and rooms YOY.

Renovation and conversion activity remains strong in Latin America at the end of Q1 2026, accounting for 150 projects/25,788 rooms, up 9% by projects YOY.

The first quarter of 2026 saw 14 new hotels/2,153 rooms open throughout Latin America. The LE new hotel openings forecast for the remainder of the year expects an additional 90 new hotels with 15,781 rooms to open by year-end, for a total of 104 new hotels/17,934 rooms forecast to open in 2026. Looking ahead, LE analysts forecast 115 new hotels/15,661 rooms to open in Latin America in 2027.

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