Marriott and Hilton Lead New Hotel Construction
Joe Cortez October 28, 2021
Hotel Business reports the three hospitality companies currently have 3,278 construction projects in their pipelines, representing 68% of the world’s hotel construction projects.
Mid-Brands Leading the Way in Dallas, Atlanta and Los Angeles
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels were abandoned nearly overnight as travelers were placed under “safer at home” orders. In addition, supply chain issues drove the price of construction materials upward, resulting in additional barriers to opening new projects.
But as the pandemic is starting to get contained, hospitality companies are once again getting new construction projects off the ground. Instead of adding luxury properties to their portfolios, much of the new development is focused on mid-level and extended stay hotel brands. According to the Lodging Econometrics report, Hilton’s leading development brand is the Home2 suites, while IHG and Marriott are expanding the footprint of Holiday Inn Express and Fairfield Inn, respectively.
Major cities are once again leading the way for new development. In Dallas, 147 projects are currently in hotel pipelines, representing 17,711 rooms. Other major cities getting more rooms include Atlanta with 139 projects, Los Angeles with 133 projects, and New York with 130 projects.
However, Atlanta leads the way for new construction expected to break ground in the next year. Over 50 projects are expected to begin in the “city in the woods,” adding over 7,500 rooms. Dallas will see 48 projects begin in the coming 12 months, while Los Angeles is expected to see 47 new projects.
The second year of the pandemic has not stopped hotels from opening. Lodging Econometrics projects Marriott will open 245 hotels by the end of 2021, while Hilton could welcome guests in 192 new hotels. IHG is projected to open 204 new hotels, adding 20,737 new rooms to their portfolio.
Hilton CEO Says Hotels are Hedged Against Inflation
The new pipelines come as Hilton chief executive Christopher Nassetta is telling investors they are hedged against inflation because of their business model. Bloomberg reports the head of the hospitality giant made the claims during the 2021 third quarter results call with investors.
“We can reprice our product every second of every day,” said Nassetta, as quoted by Bloomberg. “We’re a very good hedge in that way to inflation and we’re being very thoughtful about how we’re pricing our product.”
Feature image courtesy: Sandy Millar via Unsplash
