The number of U.S. hotel rooms in construction is down roughly 61,000 from the country’s all-time high achieved in early 2020, according to December 2021 pipeline data from STR.
The final two phases of the pipeline, construction and final planning, are down by double digits from the same time last year while activity in the planning stage has risen significantly.
December 2021 (percentage change in comparison with December 2020):
- In construction: 158,906 rooms (-19.2%)
- Final Planning: 185,231 rooms (-20.6%)
- Planning: 284,502 rooms (+38.9%)
"This past year was the second in a row with far fewer rooms in construction and final planning, but the rise in planning activity could be an indicator that the pandemic's impact on the pipeline will be different than what we saw during the Great Recession," said Alison Hoyt, STR's senior director of consulting. "During the previous recession, construction declines persisted from 2008 through 2010, but with massive jump in planning today, the construction downturn may not last as long as more rooms advance to later phases of the pipeline.
