LE Debuts 2028 U.S. Hotel Openings Forecast, Projects 832 New Hotels to Open

As seen in the Q2 2026 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the second quarter, there are 5,975 projects with 703,001 rooms in the pipeline.

Midway through 2026, there are 1,081 projects comprising 133,216 rooms under construction. Projects slated to start construction anytime within the next 12 months total 2,147 comprising 245,871 rooms. Projects and room counts in the early planning stage stand at 2,747 projects and 323,914 rooms.

LE analysts report that the upper midscale and upscale chain scales continue to lead the total U.S. construction pipeline with the greatest number of projects and rooms. The upper midscale chain scale stands at 2,225 projects/214,027 rooms and the upscale chain scale at 1,282 projects/159,252 rooms. Together, these two chain scales comprise 59% of all projects and 53% of all rooms in the total pipeline.

The luxury chain scale reaches a record high project total at Q2 with 103 projects/25,496 rooms, up 12% in projects and 21% in rooms year-over-year (YOY). The upper upscale chain scale also hits a record-high in the second quarter of 2026, reaching 367 projects/65,021 rooms.

New project announcements (NPAs) in Q2 total 280 projects/33,423 rooms, up 18% in projects and 23% in rooms YOY. Construction starts reach 176 projects/20,056 rooms, up 14% in projects and 17% in rooms YOY. Conversions hit a record high at Q2, with 1,567 projects/152,044 rooms in the pipeline, up 15% in projects and 18% in rooms YOY. Together, hotel conversions and renovations represent 2,097 projects/255,834 rooms, with combined project counts up 7% YOY.

According to LE analysts, 277 new hotels with 31,416 rooms opened in the U.S. during the first and second quarters of 2026. The LE forecast for the remainder of 2026 includes the opening of another 384 projects with 43,404 rooms, totaling 661 new hotels with 74,820 rooms by year-end for a 1.3% growth rate.

Looking ahead to 2027, LE analysts anticipate 738 new hotels/78,909 rooms to open for a 1.4% growth rate.

Announcing for the first time, LE’s U.S. New Hotel Openings Forecast for 2028 estimates 832 projects/88,321 rooms to open in the U.S., for a growth rate of 1.5% and marking continued growth in the industry.

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