STR reports US pipeline for January 2010

The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 3,647 projects comprising 378,145 rooms, according to the January 2010 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 35.9-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to January 2009. 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.

“Midscale without F&B continues to lead all Chain Scales with rooms in construction,” said Duane Vinson, VP of content management for STR. “With more than 116,000 rooms in the active pipeline, this segment far exceeds other scales, capturing 30.8 percent of the development share. A few brands in this segment, such as Holiday Inn Express (29,430 rooms), Hampton Inn Suites (19,154 rooms) and Candlewood Suites (13,002 rooms), continue to be very aggressive with their expansions despite reporting an average of 30 percent fewer rooms in development.”

Among the Chain Scale segments, five of the seven segments reported decreases of more than 50 percent of rooms in the In Construction phase. The Economy segment experienced the largest decrease, falling 60.4 percent to 3,828 rooms, followed by the Luxury segment (-59.4 percent to 3,116 rooms) and the Upscale segment (-58.7 percent to 22,449 rooms). The Midscale with Food and Beverage segment reported the smallest decrease in rooms in the In Construction phase, dropping 25.3 percent to 6,633. The Midscale without Food and Beverage segment ended the month with the most rooms in the In Construction phase with 31,040 rooms.

“When compared with last January, construction in all Chain Scales is down an average of 54 percent,” Vinson continued. “With the exception of a few brands, we’re continuing to see a significant draw down in all phases of development as the economic recovery drags along and optimism for early 2010 improvements are pushed back.”

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.