STR reports US hotel pipeline for March 2008

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee -- The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 5,187 projects with 551,610 rooms, according to the March 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 17.1-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to March 2008. The total active pipeline data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages, but does not include projects in the Pre-Planning stage.

“The largest change comes from the Mountain region due to the cancellation or deferring of projects in Las Vegas such as the 5,000 room Crown Hotel and Casino and the Echelon project,” said Marcella Quaglia, supervisor of STR Pipeline Department. “The Southern U.S. and Pacific regions also have slowed in large part due to the resort nature of these locations.”

All nine geographical regions in the United States reported decreases in the total rooms in the pipeline, including the In-Construction, Final Planning, Planning and Pre-Planning stages, in year-over-year measurements. The Mountain region reported the largest decrease in the total rooms in the pipeline, down 24.0 percent to 99,434 total rooms (131,614 total rooms in March 2008). The East South Central region decreased by 20.0 percent, reporting 41,227 total rooms in the pipeline; down from 51,540 total rooms in March 2008. The West South Central region reported the smallest decrease, down 0.3 percent to 104,482 total rooms in the pipeline (105,945 total rooms in March 2008). The New England region also reported a decrease in total rooms in the pipeline of less than 1 percent, down 0.4 percent to 25,419 in the total pipeline, down from 26,418 total rooms in the pipeline in March 2008.

At the end of March, the number of rooms in the pipeline for each STR Region is as follows:

U.S. Rooms Pipeline by Region (March 2009 vs. March 2008):

Region               Existing  In Construction   Total Active
                       Supply                        Pipeline
Pacific               713,908           15,399         65,598 
Mountain              561,666           24,575         67,843 
West North Central    327,675            6,921         23,940 
West South Central    554,308           34,568         94,128 
East North Central    554,986           13,597         45,474 
East South Central    303,778           11,240         37,835 
Middle Atlantic       413,267           22,113         65,775 
New England           193,017            3,042         19,580 
South Atlantic      1,097,963           43,692        131,437 
                    ---------          -------        -------
Total               4,720,568          175,147        551,610

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

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 .