The lack of available financing and continued economic uncertainty remain major obstacles to Construction Pipeline growth, which is channeling in a bottoming formation for a 7th consecutive quarter. Project migration up the Pipeline toward construction is sluggish, resulting in extended timelines as developers wait for a more certain economic, lending and operating environment. Amidst a renewed e...

At 412 projects/71,276 rooms, 53% of Europe's total projects are currently Under Construction, a high percentage not seen since Q1 2009. As such, New Hotel Openings exiting the Pipeline will remain elevated over the next two years. LE's Forecast for New Hotel Openings projects 212 hotels/31,085 rooms to open in 2011, then 198 hotels/32,130 rooms in 2012. Then, Pipeline totals are expected to drif...

At 225 projects/35,803 rooms, Latin America's Under Construction project counts are up 13% YoY, but down 6% by rooms, as the average size of new projects entering the Pipeline has declined by 11 rooms due to the higher proportion of smaller-sized Upscale and Midscale projects. Scheduled Starts in the Next 12 Months, at 139 projects/24,853 rooms in Q2, are up 3% by projects and 8% by rooms from Q2...

China, with 1,260 projects/353,254 rooms, has 62% of the region's total projects and 70% of its rooms. China's Pipeline is the first in the world to surpass its previous cyclical peak of 1,240 projects/323,956 rooms set in Q2 2008, prior to the Olympic Games. Since then, projects have increased by 2% and rooms by 9%.

47 percent of the 110 transactions were in the top 25 markets, the highest percentage LE has ever recorded. 37 percent were in Upscale and higher chain scales. 21 hotels greater than 200 rooms, or 19 percent of the total, sold at a cyclical high average of $181,680 per room .
For the 110 hotels that reported a selling price, a total of $2,186M was invested in the industry. REITs accounted for 54 ...

Further declines have brought Construction Pipeline counts to a new cyclical low of 2,951 projects/354,100 rooms in Q1 2011. With 426 projects/54,530 rooms, just 14% of total Pipeline projects and 15% of rooms, Under Construction totals have fallen to lows not seen since the 1990's. Conversely, Early Planning counts have been growing since Q4 2009. Hotels that are larger and have longer timelines...

Powered by some of the world’s fastest growing economies, chiefly China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia, the Asia Pacific region continues to demonstrate a quick bounce-back from the global economic crisis. Sweeping fiscal and monetary stimulus programs mitigated the impact of the recession. As a result, strong economic growth of 5% or more is expected in many Asian countries through 2013.

The sovereign debt crisis, budget cutbacks and rising inflation continue to weigh heavily on much of Europe and will keep economic growth subdued at least into 2012. Uncertainty is particularly high in Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. In the United Kingdom, an unexpected drop in GDP to -0.6% in Q4 2010 has triggered apprehensions about a double-dip recession. Fears of increased energy and com...

The resurgence of lodging construction in South America is gathering speed, having bounced back faster than most other regions of the world. Rapid government intervention, including broad stimulus programs, lower interest rates and investment incentives, minimized the impact of the global recession and banking crisis. Escalating international demand for natural resources exported by these countri...

Lodging Econometrics announced today the latest data from their recent Transaction Trends Report. A total of 1,298 hotels were sold or transferred in 2010, up two and a half times from 2009, when only 513 hotels changed hands. The volume increase was largely due to a revived Wall Street, rekindling M&A activity. Individual and Portfolio Transactions increased 19% year-over-year (YoY) from 513 hot...