STR's hotel pipeline data for the U.S. showed 1,573 projects accounting for 205,992 rooms in construction as of July 2019. This represented an 8.3% year-over-year increase in the number of rooms in the final phase of the development pipeline.

"Construction activity has now increased year over year for 10 consecutive months as we move closer to the peak (211,000 rooms) recorded in December of 2007," said Bobby Bowers, STR's senior VP of operations. "While growth in the hotel pipeline has been gradual on a national level, there are definitely markets that have seen a more rapid acceleration in comparison with their existing supply, and subsequent pressure on performance has been evident.

"What hasn't changed much over the last few years is the development focus on select-service properties and the fact that most of the pipeline will be branded under the flags of the big companies. In fact, if you add up the pipeline counts for Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Choice and Wyndham, you'll get more than 80% of the U.S. total."

A majority of the country's construction activity continues to be focused in the upper midscale and upscale segments, with upper upscale projects represented the largest percentage increase in activity year over year.

1. Upper Midscale: 64,128 rooms (-0.5%)
2. Upscale: 61,753 rooms (+3.7%)
3. Upper Upscale: 28,843 rooms (+22.6%)

Five markets reported more than 6,000 rooms under construction between new construction, expansion, renovation and conversion projects. New York led with 14,755 rooms, which represented 11.8% of the market's existing supply, followed by Las Vegas (8,878 rooms, 5.3% of existing supply).

1. New York: 14,755 rooms (11.8%)
2. Las Vegas: 8,878 rooms (5.3%)
3. Orlando: 7,297 rooms (5.7%)
4. Los Angeles/Long Beach: 6,150 rooms (5.9%)
5. Dallas: 6,014 rooms (6.6%)

About STR

STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, an international headquarters in London, and an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. STR was acquired in October 2019 by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. For more information, please visit str.com and costargroup.com.