LE: Nearly half of Europe’s Q3 pipeline is under construction

According to the Q3 2024 Europe Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), analysts report that the region’s total pipeline stands at 1,645 projects/244,548 rooms.

Claiming 45% of the projects and 47% of the rooms in the total pipeline in Europe at Q3, projects currently under construction stand at 738 projects/114,391 rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months account for 399 projects/57,828 rooms, making up 24% of both projects and rooms. Projects in the early planning stage comprise 508 projects/72,329 rooms, accounting for 31% of the projects and 29% of the rooms in the total pipeline.

At the end of the third quarter, Europe’s construction pipeline continues to be led by projects in the upscale segment with 339 projects/52,743 rooms. Upper-midscale follows with 315 projects/47,565 rooms, showing a notable 9% increase in projects YOY. The upper-upscale segment reached record highs this quarter, with 281 projects/45,358 rooms, representing an 11% increase in projects and an 8% increase in rooms YOY. Combined, these three chain scales account for 57% of the projects and 60% of the rooms in Europe’s total construction pipeline.

Further, conversion activity remains robust in Europe at Q3, with 497 projects/60,403 rooms, showing a substantial 33% increase in projects and a 21% increase in rooms YOY. Combined, hotel renovations and brand conversions total 637 projects/81,526 rooms.

The leading countries in Europe’s construction pipeline are the U.K. with 293 projects/42,071 rooms, Germany with 172 projects/28,304 rooms, Turkey with record highs of 123 projects/18,465 rooms, Portugal with 114 projects/14,048 rooms and France with 105 projects/11,025 rooms. These five countries combined account for 49% of the projects and 47% of the rooms in Europe’s total pipeline.

The cities with the largest pipelines are London with 75 projects/14,985 rooms, Istanbul with 51 projects/8,255 rooms, Lisbon with 36 projects/4,050 rooms, Dublin with 25 projects/4,665 rooms and Manchester with 23 projects/4,345 rooms.

In Q3 2024, Europe opened 83 new hotels accounting for 11,640 rooms, bringing the total year-to-date openings to 220 new hotels/29,601 rooms. LE’s forecast for new hotel openings expects an additional 107 new hotels/13,856 rooms to open in Q4, bringing the year-end total for 2024 to 327 new hotels/43,457 rooms. Looking ahead, LE predicts continued growth in new hotel openings with 353 new hotels/51,463 rooms scheduled to open in 2025, and 426 new hotels/57,350 rooms expected to open in 2026.