Nearly half of Europe’s pipeline under construction

INTERNATIONAL REPORT — Nearly half of Europe’s construction pipeline is currently under construction through the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from Lodging Econometrics.

The region’s total pipeline is 1,645 projects and 244,548 rooms, with 45% of the projects (738) and 47% of the rooms (114,391) of the pipeline currently under construction. Meanwhile, 24% of the pipeline is in the projects scheduled to start in the next 12 months category, with 399 projects and 57,828 rooms. There are currently 508 projects and 72,329 rooms in the early planning stage.

Through the third quarter, the upscale segment continues to lead Europe’s pipeline with 339 projects and 52,743 rooms followed by upper midscale at 315 projects and 47,565 rooms (a 9% increase in projects YOY). The upper upscale segment reached record highs this quarter, with 281 projects (11% increase YOY) and 45,358 rooms (8% increase YOY). Those three chain scales account for 57% of the projects and 60% of the rooms in Europe’s pipeline.

European conversion activities remain strong, with 497 projects (up 33%) and 60,403 rooms (up 21%). Combined, hotel renovations and brand conversions total 637 projects and 81,526 rooms.

The U.K. leads Europe’s pipeline with 293 projects and 42,071 rooms, with Germany second with 172 projects and 28,304 rooms. Turkey is third, with record highs of 123 projects and 18,465 rooms; Portugal is fourth, with 114 projects and 14,048 rooms and France is fifth, with 105 projects and 11,025 rooms. These five countries combined account for 49% of the projects and 47% of the rooms in Europe’s pipeline.

London is the leading city with 75 projects and 14,985 rooms, while Istanbul is second with 51 projects/8,255 rooms. Lisbon, Spain, is third with 36 projects and 4,050 rooms; Dublin, Ireland, is fourth with 25 projects and 4,665 rooms and Manchester, U.K., is fifth with 23 projects and 4,345 rooms.

In the third quarter, 83 new hotels and 11,640 rooms opened in Europe, bringing the total year-to-date openings to 220 new hotels and 29,601 rooms. LE is forecasting 107 new hotels and 13,856 rooms through the rest of the year, bringing the year-end total for 2024 to 327 new hotels and 43,457 rooms. LE predicts continued growth in new hotel openings, with 353 new hotels and 51,463 rooms scheduled to open in 2025 and 426 new hotels and 57,350 rooms expected to open in 2026.