As reported by Lodging Econometrics (LE), the total Asia Pacific construction pipeline has become the largest in the world as of the end of the first quarter.
With a total of 4,284 projects and 871,480 rooms, the area’s pipeline is the largest ever recorded in any region by LE.
More than 3,046 projects, comprising 71 percent of all regional pipeline projects, are currently under construction, with more than a quarter of them in the economy chain scale.
China specifically has the largest pipeline by room count of any country in the world, with a total of 2,654 projects and 554,025 rooms, and accounts for 64 percent of all hotel rooms under development in the region. The country is also home to 15 of the next 16 largest market pipelines, led by Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai.
Indonesia follows with a national average of 8 percent of the pipeline and the largest regional guestroom pipeline with 143 projects in Jakarta, followed closely by Seoul with 127 projects and 25,994 rooms.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) remains the number one global franchise company in the region with 287 projects and 75,122 rooms and also features the largest number of open and operating guestrooms with 414 properties averaging 300 rooms per hotel.
Meanwhile, Hilton Worldwide has the second largest number of rooms in the pipeline with 219 projects and 64,672 rooms, including the Hilton Hotel & Resort brand, the leading upscale brand being developed in the region with 81 projects and 27,440 rooms.
Marriott International follows in third with 223 projects—59 percent of which are already in the ground—and 60,107 rooms; Starwood has 202 projects and 54,956 rooms; and Brussels-based Accor has 146 projects and 38,893 rooms in the pipeline, 90 percent of which are midmarket and economy projects.
The five leading global franchise companies account for 34 percent of the rooms being developed in the region. Another 849 projects, or 20 percent of the current pipeline, have yet to make a branding decision.
