INTERNATIONAL
REPORT —China’s hotel construction pipeline at the end of 4Q24 remained stable at 3,779
projects and 681,915 rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics data.
Projects
under construction stood at 2,753 projects and 491,966 rooms, up 4%
by both projects and rooms YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the
next 12 months stood at 357 projects and 62,112 rooms, while projects in the
early planning stage dropped slightly to 669 projects and 127,837 rooms.
The upper
midscale segment was the top chain scale for development with 1,215 projects and
185,100 rooms, accounting for 32% of the projects in China’s total pipeline.
The upscale segment continued to show strong growth in Q4, increasing 11% by
projects and 5% by rooms YOY with 1,018 projects and 218,919 rooms. Those two
chain scales account for 70% of all projects in China’s pipeline.
Brand
conversions reached a new record high room count in Q4, with combined hotel
renovations and brand conversions totaling 195 projects and 39,156 rooms,
representing a 34% increase in projects and a 37% increase in rooms YOY.
At the close
of 2024’s fourth quarter, Chengdu continued to lead China’s hotel construction
pipeline with 141 projects and 25,180 rooms. Shanghai followed with 133 projects
and 24,529 rooms, showing steady growth of 10% by projects and 6% by rooms YOY.
Guangzhou ranked third with 120 projects and 24,217 rooms, then Hangzhou with 99
projects and 19,874 rooms, and Xi’an with 92 projects/16,083 rooms.
China saw
robust hotel openings throughout 2024, with 871 new hotels accounting for
120,928 rooms open during the year. LE forecasts continued growth in China,
with 1,090 new hotels and 170,214 rooms projected to open in 2025, followed by
835 new hotels and 145,646 rooms projected to open in 2026.