Hotel construction in the United States ended in the fourth quarter of 2025 with a total portfolio of 6,146 projects and 720,089 roomsaccording to Lodging Econometrics’ latest hotel construction pipeline trends report. Total pipeline went down both quarter after quarter i year after yearbut the final months of 2024 set record highs for certain segmentsif categories
In 2025, there were 640 new hotel openings with 74,079 rooms in the US, expanding the country’s hotel supply by 1.3% at the end of the year. Lodging Econometrics projected “continued growth in the coming years, with 708 new hotels and 80,034 rooms expected to open by 2026,” representing a 1.4% increase in supply.
Luxury, conversions lead
Upper mid-range hotels continued to lead the chain’s scaled portfolio in the fourth quarter, with 2,275 projects and 218,526 rooms, the report said, followed by luxury hotels, with 1,336 projects and 167,316 rooms during the period. The mid-scale segment remained stable with 956 projects and 80,260 rooms, while the luxury hotel portfolio grew to a record 95 projects with 22,045 rooms in the fourth quarter.
Ongoing brand conversations hit an all-time high at the close of the fourth quarter, with projects growing 12% year-over-year to 1,497 and rooms growing 16% year-over-year to 148,981. Hotel renovations were mostly flat with 621 projects with 129,647 rooms. However, Lodging Econometrics said in the report that “combined, renovation and conversion projects represent a significant portion of hotel development activity, reaching a new record with a total of 2,118 projects with 278,628 rooms.”
Dallas boosts US pipeline
The Dallas market continued to drive the construction of hotels in the country in the fourth quarter with 193 projects for a total of 23,720 rooms. Atlanta followed with 159 projects and 17,804 rooms, and Phoenix was third with 124 projects and 16,303 rooms. Additionally, Nashville, Tennessee had 120 projects and 15,983 rooms and Austin, Texas had 120 projects and 14,120 rooms.
In terms of the leading markets in the construction phase of the pipeline, Phoenix was at the top with 35 projects and 4,829 rooms, followed by Dallas with 34 projects and 3,663 rooms, New York with 29 projects and 5,689 rooms, Miami with 24 projects and 4,843 rooms and Atlanta and Atlanta with 2,126 rooms.
Dallas continued to lead the pack with the most planned construction starts over the next 12 months, with 74 projects and 8,202 rooms, followed immediately by Atlanta, Austin, California’s Inland Empire and Nashville.
The strength of the Dallas market is also evident when it comes to the early planning stage, according to the report, which said the city had 85 projects and 11,855 rooms in the works. Atlanta, Nashville, the Inland and Orlando rounded out the top five.
“These project counts underscore substantial activity in the US hotel industry, with the South and Southwest regions continuing to lead new hotel construction,” the report said.
Houston and Atlanta led in terms of hotel renovations and conversions at the end of the fourth quarter, with each city having 35 projects and 5,411 and 4,314 rooms, respectively. Washington, DC, Chicago and New York followed.
Meanwhile, Phoenix had the most new project announcements with 12 projects, or 1,347 rooms, followed by Atlanta and St. Louis.
Future perspective
There were a total of 285 new project announcements with 32,358 rooms entering the pipeline in the fourth quarter. Construction starts through 2025 totaled 668 projects, comprising 78,530 rooms, and 148 projects comprising 17,623 rooms broke ground in the fourth quarter.
There are currently 1,088 projects under construction, with 134,380 rooms. Looking ahead, the report says there are 2,175 projects with 253,750 rooms slated to begin construction in the next 12 months. Projects in the initial planning phase represented the majority of projects in the active portfolio, closing the quarter with 2,883 projects and 331,959 rooms.
Analysts at Lodging Econometrics said in a press release that they expect “accelerated hotel opening growth again in 2027,” with 824 new hotels and 88,095 rooms expected to open in the U.S. by the end of next year, for a projected 1.5% expansion in the national hotel census.
Phoenix is expected to hold the top spot in 2026 with 23 new hotel openings and 3,326 rooms. New York is expected to open 22 hotels and 3,795 rooms.
In Texas, Dallas plans to open 19 hotels and 2,295 rooms, and Austin plans to open 13 hotels with 1,738 rooms. In California, the Inland Empire was slated to open 12 hotels and 1,024 rooms.
By 2027, Lodging Econometrics expects Dallas to lead openings with 37 new hotels and 3,198 rooms, followed by Atlanta, the Inland Empire, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
