PORTSMOUTH, NH—Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) report that at the close of the first quarter of 2020, Europe’s hotel construction pipeline expanded to near-record highs with 1,840 projects and 294,047 rooms, a 10% increase in projects and a 15% increase in rooms, year-over-year (YOY).
Projects under construction stand at 878 projects, with an all-time high of 142,185 rooms, while projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 522 projects with a record-high 82,229 rooms. Projects in the early planning stage have 440 projects/69,633 rooms. During the first quarter of 2020, Europe opened 84 new hotels with 10,469 rooms.
The United Kingdom leads the construction pipeline with 342 projects with an all-time high of 52,231 rooms, followed by Germany with 323 projects/58,935 rooms. France follows with 172 projects/21,070 rooms. Next is Portugal with 120 projects and a record 13,049 rooms, and then Poland with 92 projects/14,529 rooms.
The cities in Europe with the largest pipelines are London with 96 projects and an all-time high 18,055 rooms, Dusseldorf at 58 projects/11,290 rooms and Paris at 39 projects/6,108 rooms. Next is Hamburg, with 34 projects/7,294 rooms and then Lisbon with 33 projects/3,116 rooms.
Accor is the leading franchise company with the largest European pipeline by projects with 238 projects/32,763 rooms, followed closely by Marriott International, with 227 projects/37,764 rooms. Hilton is next with an all-time high of 195 projects/30,289 rooms, followed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 160 projects/25,632 rooms. These four global franchise companies account for 45% of all projects in Europe’s pipeline.
The leading brands for these four companies are Accor’s Ibis brands with 108 projects/13,779 rooms and then Novotel and Mercure Hotels with 25 projects/3,890 rooms and 25 projects/3,177 rooms, respectively. Marriott International’s top brands are Moxy with 75 projects/13,386 rooms, Courtyard by Marriott with 28 projects/4,892 rooms and Autograph Collection with 20 projects and an all-time high 1,909 rooms.
Hilton is led by Hampton by Hilton at an all-time high of 81 projects/ 12,736 rooms, Hilton Garden Inn with 42 projects/7,093 rooms and DoubleTree by Hilton with an all-time high of 28 projects/3,354 rooms. IHG’s top brands include Holiday Inn Express with 70 projects/10,844 rooms, Holiday Inn with 31 projects/7,196 rooms and Hotel Indigo with 16 projects/1,661 rooms.
Similar to other pipelines around the world, Europe’s hotel construction pipeline is experiencing temporary delays of approximately two to four months. Hotel construction across the region varies by country; some countries have resumed construction while others are still waiting for guidance on precautionary measures, guidelines and start dates.
Countries across Europe are working on plans to safely reopen existing hotels, with plans varying by country. Some countries have partially reopened under strict guidelines, while others plan to roll out phased reopenings through June and into July.
COVID-19 did not have a full impact on first quarter 2020 Europe results reported by LE. LE’s market intelligence department has and will continue to gather the necessary global intelligence on the supply side of the lodging industry and make that information available to its subscribers. It is still early to predict the full impact of the outbreak on the lodging industry. LE will have more information to report in the coming months.
