STR reports U.S. hotel Pipeline for October 2008

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee | The active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 5,917 hotels with 647,136 guestrooms, according to the October 2008 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents an 11.2-percent increase in the number of guestrooms in the active pipeline over October 2007.

However, the number of guestrooms in the construction phase of the pipeline in October decreased 4.9 percent from October 2007 to 190,395 (1,541 properties). Figures in the report include hotels in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages. They do not include the Pre-Planning stage.

“The number of rooms in construction year-over-year is down 4.9 percent, which is a rather sharp decline from September’s 0.3-percent drop,” said Duane Vinson, vice president, content management for STR. “This decade’s hotel building boom is certainly showing signs of weakening.

“In-Construction numbers for October show a significant slowdown in most chain scales over last year, with the exceptions of the Upscale and Midscale without F&B segments,” he said. “Among the Upscale chains, the Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott brands account for 43 percent of the total rooms under way.”

At the close of October, the number of rooms in the pipeline for each STR chain scale is as follows:

U.S. Pipeline by Chain Scale
Number of Rooms & Percent Change (October 2008 vs. October 2007)

* Includes those projects In Construction, Final Planning and Planning phases.

According to the report, Hilton Hotels Corporation’s Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites, IHG’s Holiday Inn Express, and Fairfield Inn by Marriott make up 60 percent of the rooms in-construction for the Midscale without Food & Beverage segment, which has the largest number of rooms in the In Construction stage of the pipeline.

Complete copies of the report can be purchased by contacting STR at [email protected].

About STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report: The Pipeline Report is co-produced by Torto Wheaton Research, Dodge Construction, and dedicated pipeline team at STR. Available as an annual subscription or a local Market Supply Report, the Pipeline Report is a comprehensive look at new hotel development and existing supply in the U.S. and Canada.

About STR & STR Global: For more than 20 years, Smith Travel Research has been the recognized leader for lodging industry benchmarking and research. Smith Travel Research and STR Global offer monthly, weekly, and daily STAR benchmarking reports to more than 36,000 hotel clients, representing nearly 5 million rooms worldwide. STR is headquartered in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and STR Global is based in London. For more information, visit or .