Dallas, Phoenix will have most openings in 2026: LE

NATIONAL REPORT – As has been the case for several quarters, Dallas has the biggest hotel construction pipeline in the U.S. with 197 projects and 24,310 rooms at the end of the third quarter, according to Lodging Econometrics.

Looking ahead, LE’s forecast for 2026 shows Dallas and Phoenix each leading with 25 new hotel openings (2,746 and 2,698 rooms, respectively), followed by Nashville with 15 new hotels/1,995 rooms, Atlanta with 15 new hotels/1,478 rooms, and Houston with 14 new hotels/953 rooms.

In 2027, LE analysts forecast Dallas to lead with 34 new hotels/3,142 rooms, followed by Inland Empire with 26 new hotels/2,764 rooms, Atlanta with 26 new hotels/2,640 rooms, Phoenix with 19 new hotels/2,332 rooms, and Nashville with 16 new hotels/1,596 rooms.

According to LE analysts, 490 new hotels with 57,479 rooms opened in the U.S. through the first three quarters of 2025. U.S. markets with the highest number of new openings through Q3 were Atlanta with 17 hotels/1,776 rooms, Dallas with 14 hotels/1,446 rooms, New York with 11 hotels/1,243 rooms, Nashville with 9 hotels/1,198 rooms, and Orlando with 8 hotels/2,827 rooms.

For year-end 2025, New York City leads with the largest number of forecasted new hotels at 21 new hotels/2,771 rooms. Atlanta and Dallas follow, each with 19 new hotels (2,144 and 1,918 rooms, respectively), then Phoenix with 13 new hotels/2,415 rooms, and Nashville with 11 new hotels/1,437 rooms.

More 3Q25 data

Looking back to the end of 3Q25, following Dallas were Atlanta with 160 projects accounting for 18,239 rooms, Nashville with a record-high 130 projects and 17,183 rooms, Phoenix with 125 projects/16,481 rooms, and Austin with 124 projects accounting for 14,486 rooms.

At Q3, stand out U.S. markets with the greatest number of projects under construction were led by Phoenix with 36 projects/5,009 rooms. Dallas followed with 32 projects/3,668 rooms, then New York with 31 projects/5,458 rooms, while Miami and Atlanta followed with 21 projects each, accounting for 4,345 rooms and 2,503 rooms, respectively.

Dallas, with 80 projects/8,894 rooms, has the most projects scheduled to start within the next 12 months. Following Dallas were Atlanta with 61 projects/6,999 rooms, Austin with 57 projects/6,267 rooms, Nashville with 51 projects/6,591 rooms, and Inland Empire with 42 projects/4,118 rooms.

Dallas also topped the list of markets with the most hotel projects in the early planning stage at Q3, boasting 85 projects and 11,748 rooms. Atlanta followed with 78 projects and 8,737 rooms, while Nashville had 60 projects totaling 7,977 rooms. Inland Empire and Orlando round out the top five, with Inland Empire at 57 projects/5,685 rooms and Orlando at 51 projects/12,248 rooms.

Through the third quarter, there were a combined U.S. hotel renovations and brand conversions with 2,043 active projects and 271,177 rooms across the nation. The markets with the largest combined number of renovations and conversions at Q3 were Washington, DC-MD-VA with 37 projects/4,745 rooms, Houston with 34 projects/5,360 rooms, Atlanta with 33 projects/3,988 rooms, Chicago with 31 projects/5,731 rooms, and San Antonio with 30 projects/2,933 rooms.