Latin America Hotel Construction Pipeline Reaches Record Highs as Early Planning Projects Climb 29% Year-Over-Year
LE's Q3 2026 report shows Latin America's hotel pipeline at 783 projects/114,148 rooms, with early planning up 29% YOY and record highs in luxury, upper upscale, and conversions.
Lodging Econometrics’ (LE) Q3 2026 Latin America Construction Pipeline Trend Report shows that at the close of the third quarter, the total construction pipeline stands at 783 projects/114,148 rooms, up 4% by project count year-over-year (YOY).
At the close of the quarter, hotel projects under construction in Latin America stand at 288 projects/45,186 rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 195 projects/30,111 rooms. Projects in early planning leads pipeline growth at Q3, rising 29% by projects and 21% by rooms YOY to 300 projects/38,851 rooms. This stage is the largest in the region’s pipeline by project count, accounting for 38% of all projects.
The luxury chain scale reaches a record-high project total of 148 projects/24,584 rooms. The upscale chain scale follows with 142 projects/20,699 rooms, and the midscale chain scale stands at 142 projects/16,956 room. Combined, these three chain scales total 432 projects/62,239 rooms, accounting for 55% of the projects and rooms in the region’s total pipeline. Notably, the upper upscale chain scale reaches record-high project totals of 137 projects/22,795 rooms, up 11% by projects YOY.
New project announcements in Latin America rise 44% by projects and 16% by rooms YOY to 56 projects/7,461 rooms at the Q3 close. Additionally, 22 projects/3,279 rooms begin construction during the quarter. Combined hotel renovations and brand conversions reach record-high project and room totals of 189 projects/33,835 rooms, up 9% by projects and 16% by rooms YOY. Conversion projects alone also reach record highs, at 139 projects/20,826 rooms, up 21% by projects and 48% by rooms YOY.
Mexico continues to lead Latin America’s construction pipeline with 229 projects/32,856 rooms, accounting for 29% of the region’s projects and rooms. Brazil follows with 145 projects/19,885 rooms, up 18% by projects and 22% by rooms YOY. The Dominican Republic reaches a record-high project total of 88 projects/17,356 rooms. Together, these three countries account for 59% of the projects and 61% of the rooms in the region’s total pipeline.
Cities in Latin America with the largest pipelines by project count include Mexico City, Mexico, with 25 projects/2,702 rooms; Lima, Peru, with 19 projects/2,421 rooms; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, with 15 projects/2,978 rooms.
Latin America opens 51 new hotels/9,107 rooms through the first three quarters of 2026. LE forecasts another 39 new hotels/5,933 rooms to open in Q4, bringing the 2026 total to 90 new hotels/15,040 rooms. Looking ahead, LE forecasts new hotel openings in Latin America to rise to 115 new hotels/17,300 rooms in 2027, followed by 116 new hotels/15,426 rooms in 2028.
About Lodging Econometrics (LE)
For over 25 years, Lodging Econometrics (LE) has been the industry-leading provider of global hotel intelligence and decision-maker contact information. LE custom-builds business development database programs for hotel franchise companies looking to accelerate their brand growth, hotel ownership and management companies seeking to expand their real estate portfolios, and lodging industry vendors wanting to increase their sales. To learn more about our business development programs contact us: +1 603.431.8740, ext 0025 or [email protected].
Media Contact
Hannah Paoletti
Media Relations Manager [email protected] +1 603 427 9556