If 2023 was the year of recovery and building a strong path forward in the wake of tumult, then 2024 is distinguished by optimism. According to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international travel in 2023 reached 88 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and pent-up demand and fully recuperated Asian markets signal even more growth in 2024.

A robust hotel pipeline reflects this positive shift, but “the global trends right now for new construction revolve around the openings of projects that were delayed or slowed down during the pandemic, particularly in the Middle East and Asia,” as well as a need for renovations, says Bruce Ford, senior vice president and director of global business development at Lodging Econometrics (LE).

Currently, there are 6,160 projects under construction around the world that will provide nearly 1.1 million new guestrooms, according to LE’s 2023 Q4 numbers, and most of those developments are in Asia-Pacific (3,566), thanks to China, which accounts for 2,644 projects, followed by the U.S. with 1,118 projects under construction.

Neutral tones will add warmth to the entrance of the upcoming Cardo Roma, shown in a rendering

New brands are also in the works. Consider business traveler-fueled Cardo Hotels, popping up in Rome and Brussels, or the StandardX, Standard International’s youthful spinoff debuting in Melbourne. “The timing was fortuitous and Melbourne served as the right time to return to our contemporary beginnings to reach a younger guest that’s looking for more accessible travel experiences,” says Standard International CEO Amber Asher.

Another lifestyle newcomer, Project HQ Hotels & Residences from Sam Nazarian of sbe and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, is aimed at Generation Z and millennial travelers and plans to roll out 50 properties by 2030.

Here, we dive into some of the destinations and openings leading the charge this year.

The U.S. Forecast

Julienne Smith, chief development officer, Americas at IHG Hotels & Resorts, says that “the U.S. remains a vast development opportunity across our portfolio and accounted for nearly 40 percent of IHG’s signings as of Q3 2023.” One notable undertaking was the launch of Garner, a growing midscale conversion brand. This is in line with a downshift in new-build projects, given that “the cost of construction, financing, and availability of new construction debt financing is very limited and very challenging,” says Jonathan Falik, founder and CEO of JF Capital Advisors, which specializes in strategic and capital market advising for the hospitality industry.

LE’s data points to the same conclusion. “The U.S. just hit the fourth quarter with a record number of projects in the new construction pipeline,” Ford adds, and many of them are smaller keys or renovations and conversions.

Hyatt, for its part, is rapidly growing its recently announced Hyatt Studios, its upper-midscale extended-stay brand in the Americas (200 deals are in various stages of negotiation with both single-unit and multi-unit developers), capitalizing on what Falik describes as a healthy capital environment for the segment, while Hilton is ramping up its footprint with the newly launched LivSmart Studios brand (350 deals are in the works). Brian Quinn, chief development officer for Sonesta International Hotels, whose Sonesta ES Suites brand appeals to guests looking for both space and value, adds that “extended stay was hot before the pandemic, through the pandemic, and continues to be a bit of a juggernaut,” especially for those traveling with families or for work.

Davidson Hospitality Group, which primarily focuses on upper-upscale and luxury segments and resorts, is also adapting to a market that is challenging for full-service hotel development. “Multiple revenue streams are what get a development done,” explains CEO and president Thom Geshay. Take the Embassy Suites Orlando Sunset Walk, which Davidson is managing. Slated to open this spring, the property’s location already includes elements such as timeshares, multifamily residences, a waterpark, retail, and a Margaritaville resort. “We’re seeing add-ons to existing destinations or mixed-use developments where hospitality is one component of a project that’s either [already] mature or is creating a new destination.”

New York

With 44 projects and 7,338 rooms under construction and a current supply of 670 hotels and 126,263 rooms, New York remains one of the most competitive U.S. hotel markets. But there are always standouts. Among them are Kit Kemp’s latest, the 69-room Warren Street Hotel, resplendent in the hotelier’s signature colorful, layered aesthetic; the forthcoming Martin Brudnizki-designed Surrey, now part of Corinthia Hotels; and the highly anticipated reimagined Waldorf Astoria, set to debut in December with a design from Pierre-Yves Rochon and F&B by AvroKO. “New York City was underperforming and now the occupancies have rebounded, not all the way, but significantly,” says Falik, “and ADRs (average daily rates) are exploding.”

Bold colors and patterns converge at Warren Street Bar & Restaurant in the Kit Kemp-crafted Warren Street Hotel in New York

Marriott anticipates the 256-room, nature-inspired W Hotel Union Square will be a draw. Emerging from a redesign by Rockwell Group, the property is part of the launch of the brand’s new look. The firm’s “deep history with both this brand and hotel make them the ideal partner to reinvent and reintroduce it to the world—right back where it all started,” says Kristen Conry, Marriott’s senior vice president of global design, continents. “Guests will feel the energy of larger-than-life murals and projection art and the richness of historic architecture juxtaposed with modern elements, all topped off with a stunning rooftop bar designed by AvroKO.”

The dramatic staircase at the W Union Square, reimagined by Rockwell Group

Hilton’s lifestyle brand Tempo, which debuted in Times Square in 2023, is sprouting more locations in Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, just as its Motto flag, which also launched in New York, is now setting its sights on artsy Bentonville, Arkansas. The opening will build on its “global growth story and deliver a view of what this micro-lifestyle brand experience will be like outside of New York City,” says Larry Traxler, Hilton’s senior vice president of global design.

U.S. Secondary Markets

Evidenced by these brands’ expansions, development in secondary cities has also increased. Davidson will add the 229-room Margaritaville Hotel Kansas City (located in Kansas) to its portfolio next spring as part of a reported $800-plus million masterplan, while Hyatt looks ahead to the 150-room Hyatt House Raleigh Downtown/Seaboard Station, featuring a split-level lobby from local firm Cline Design Associates.

LE reports that 60 hotels are in the construction pipeline in Detroit totaling 7,690 rooms as of Q4 2023, including Marriott’s EDITION brand, which is expected to arrive in 2025. Recent openings in the Rust Belt city include the Godfrey, a 227-room hotel that’s part of Hilton’s Curio Collection with interiors by the Gettys Group; and an outpost of Method Co.’s ROOST apartment hotel concept that’s part of the historic Book Tower, which recently underwent a $400 million restoration thanks to local developer Bedrock.

A rendering of the soon-to-open InterContinental Bellevue at the Avenue in Washington, a collaboration with Weber Thompson, HBA, and CollinsWoerman

The 208-key InterContinental Bellevue at the Avenue in Washington, designed by the Santa Monica, California office of HBA in a mixed-use development, marks the first Pacific Northwest location of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts. Equally significant is the Regent Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles, a reintroduction of the Regent Hotels & Resorts brands to the U.S.

In Savannah, Georgia, real estate company Left Lane recently debuted the 149-key Hotel Bardo. The city, says managing partner Jon Kully, was an attractive choice as “this progressive, cool, artsy, literary place with perfect master planning and architecture and wonderful people.” He adds that Left Lane was conceived as a global brand, but it will next bring the concept to Pittsburgh and Providence, Rhode Island. “We are trying to touch all these magical places and, for the time being, stay away from gateway markets.”

Latin America + the Caribbean

With highly anticipated openings like the Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai, Mexico is often the focus in Latin America, but other destinations are also growing. According to Statista, revenue in Honduras’ hotel market is projected to reach $136.7 million in 2024 and continue to grow at a rate of 5.8 percent over the next four years, hitting $171.3 million by 2028. One burgeoning travel destination, about 35 miles off the mainland, is Roatán (one of the three Bay Islands), which is seeing growing hotel activity. The island—only 40 miles long and less than five miles wide—will soon welcome the 164-room Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatán, an all-inclusive property slated for a 2025 launch as a collaboration between Margaritaville and Karisma Hotel & Resorts.

Sculptural details define the Kimpton Grand Roatán Resort & Spa in Honduras, a collaboration with LPA Architects and Theresa Fatino Design

Margaritaville will join the recently opened Kimpton Grand Roatán, situated on the island’s West Bay Beach along the world’s second largest barrier reef. Caribbean architecture firm Lane Pettigrew Associates was tapped alongside Manhattan Beach, California-based Theresa Fatino Design, who spearheaded the interiors with the Kimpton in-house team, for a space imbued with “simple elegance and artistic layering that reflects the natural beauty of the surroundings,” says principal Theresa Fatino.

In the Caribbean, Hotel Indigo will open its first 282-room resort in Grand Cayman and the Six Senses La Sagesse in Grenada—drawing from the island’s spice heritage—is the brand’s first property in the Americas. Hilton is also unveiling Zemi Miches, its first all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic as part of its Curio Collection, showcasing a “growing portfolio of world-class all-inclusive resorts,” says Traxler.

Europe

Hotel development in London—leading Europe with 77 hotels and 13,699 rooms in the pipeline—is as strong as ever, with forthcoming arrivals like the reimagining of Whiteley’s department store into the 110-room, AvroKO-designed Six Senses.

The greenery-bedecked restaurant of the forthcoming AvroKO-designed Six Senses London, shown in a rendering

There’s also the 203-room Park Hyatt London River Thames by Tokyo firm Super Potato to look forward to. Overlooking the U.S. Embassy, its aesthetic is “East meets West featuring a fusion of British design with Asian restraint,” points out Jim Chu, executive vice president and chief growth officer at Hyatt.

Ennismore’s 111-room Hyde London City, meanwhile, is one of London’s most-anticipated lifestyle openings, and the company’s portfolio will grow elsewhere in Europe with the 390-room Jo&Joe in Budapest and the 471-room SLS Barcelona. In Rome, parent company Accor will reveal the Orient Express Grand Hotel de la Minerve, found inside a 17th-century palace revamped by Paris-based Hugo Toro. In 2025, Baccarat Hotels will also plant its flag in Rome, followed by Florence the following year.

A rendering of the dynamic lobby at the SLS Barcelona, launching later this year with a design by AIME Studios, Rockwell Group, and AvroKO

“Our brands—1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels, and Treehouse Hotels—are all relatively young, but as performance leaders in their markets they are resonating with travelers and thus in high demand,” says Raul Leal, CEO of SH Hotels & Resorts. 1 Hotels and Baccarat have largely been operating in the U.S., “but now we are set to firmly establish ourselves in many important markets across the globe.”

In Germany, Hyatt’s agreement with Lindner Hotels brings the brand to 15 new markets and extends distribution in key destinations like Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Hamburg. Interest in Hyatt’s all-inclusive collection has also paved the way to the soon-to-open Dreams Madeira Resort & Spa in Portugal and Zoëtry Halkidiki in Greece.

Istanbul, with properties like Accor’s Rixos Tersane Istanbul, is also enjoying a strong pipeline, accounting for 53 properties, 28 of which are expected to open in 2026 and beyond. In 2023, according to a report by Euromonitor International, Istanbul was the No. 1 city for international arrivals, with 20.2 million visitors—a 26 percent year-over-year increase. Hilton, poised for a strong 2025 in Turkey with the 491-room Hilton Istanbul Airport, Curio Collection’s 93-room Les Temps Istanbul Karakoy, and debut of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton, also had a solid 2023 in nearby Greece and plans to build on that with projects like the repositioning of the Hilton Athens to a Conrad, complete with Waldorf Astoria residences and a members club.

Spring will bring the Rixos Tersane Istanbul, where guestrooms will feature a sophisticated color palette, shown in a rendering

The 166-room Isla Brown Corinthia Resort & Spa near Athens and Isla Brown Chania Resort in Crete from Brown Hotels are also opening for the summer season as part of Hilton’s Curio Collection. Brown Hotels is also opening the Brown Museum, a 93-room property adjacent to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and the 53-room Domino House, “a property from the early 1920s that gained its name from the carving of its façade. We’re preserving its strong Bauhaus lines, which aren’t common in Athens,” says Brown Hotels CEO Leon Avigad.

Middle East + Africa

Saudi Arabia gets the lion’s share of attention in the Middle East, and with good reason. There are 144 projects underway there alone. “The demand for luxury is higher there than anywhere else in the world,” says Ford. “There is so much wealth and so many incentives to build.” The Jeddah EDITION has long been brewing, as have the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Jeddah at the Corniche and the Kempinski Hotel Makkah and Kempinski Hotel & Resort Yanbu on the Red Sea.

At Red Sea Global’s massive development on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, which will encompass 50 hotels by its completion in 2030 (including a Rosewood and Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve), the Six Senses Southern Dunes, the Red Sea is open, as is the St. Regis Red Sea, designed by Tokyo’s Kengo Kuma & Associates and Dubai-based Kristina Zanic Consultants. “Guests arrive to a private island in the Ummahat archipelago by chartered boat or seaplane where they are immersed in the timeless glamour of private overwater and beachfront villas all with private pools,” says Marriott’s Conry.

Hilton is betting big on the region overall. “We have over 100 hotels in the pipeline totaling almost 31,000 rooms set to open in the Middle East with 70 percent of these currently under construction,” says Traxler, pointing out two properties from LXR Hotels & Resorts: Wadi Hanifah at Daryah (the Saudi development in Riyadh), and Al Nawras Island in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with the Canopy by Hilton Porta Jeddah. Located in the Porto Jeddah mixed-use development, it will feature architecture by Chapman Taylor and interiors courtesy of DiLeonardo, and 55 of its 204 keys are slated as long-stay residential apartments.

Wynn Resorts Limited is betting big on the Middle East with the multibillion-dollar Wynn Al Marjan Island in the UAE. Debuting in Ras Al Khaimah overlooking the Arabian Gulf, the resort—with architecture by the London and Dallas offices of HKS—is slated for 2027 and will be the developer’s first project in the region.

A rendering of the Wynn Al Marjan Island, the multibillion-dollar project expected to open in the UAE in 2027, featuring architecture by HKS

Dubai will broaden its lifestyle sector with the 197-room Mama Shelter Dubai Business Bay; the increasingly popular Oman will welcome the 150-room Mandarin Oriental Muscat; and, despite the upheaval in Israel right now, Brown Hotels is plunging ahead with new openings including Brown 42, infusing Eilat with a much-needed 5-Star experience. “You’ll feel like you’re between Mykonos and Tulum in this hotel,” Avigad says.

In Africa, coveted openings include the Imaad Rahmouni-designed Park Hyatt Marrakech in Morocco overlooking a golf course and the 120-room Canopy by Hilton Seychelles and Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island. The Gem Forest Hotel & Spa Nairobi, part of the MGallery Collection, follows last year’s opening of the Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Nairobi at the Global Trade Centre, a complex in the Kenyan capital that will soon include the JW Marriott Nairobi.

Asia-Pacific

There are a whopping 3,566 projects in the pipeline for Asia-Pacific, and currently the bulk of those are being built in Chinese cities including Chengdu (103 hotels), Shanghai (92 hotels), and Guangzhou (80 hotels).

IHG experienced its best quarterly performance in China since 2021 in Q3 of 2023, with nearly 40 new signings and 20-plus new openings, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts locations in Xiangyang, Hubei, and Taichung, Taiwan, as well as the Vignette Collection Hebei Grand Hotel. “The reopening of China is a significant tailwind and opportunity,” says IHG’s Smith. “Prior to 2020, China was the world’s largest outbound tourism market, and is expected to reaccelerate in 2024 given greater accessibility for foreign visas and a loosening of pandemic-rooted travel limitations.”

Chu is confident about Hyatt’s continued growth in China, too. “UrCove, which targets the upper midscale market in China, is rapidly expanding, with plans to venture into Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan,” he explains. “Most recently, we announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Hangzhou Trade and Tourism Group and the Dragon Group and intend to develop more than 60 hotels in China over the coming decade, the first of which is expected to be a Hyatt Place hotel in Hangzhou.”

Las Vegas Sands Corp. has upped its investment in Macao, with Sands China commencing an estimated $1 billion enhancement of the Londoner Macao resort—which includes the Londoner Hotel, the Londoner Court, the Conrad Macao, the St. Regis Macao, and the Sheraton Grand Macao. The company also announced an additional $750 million reinvestment into Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, with revamps to its Tower 3, hotel lobby, and Sands SkyPark planned in phases through 2025.

Elsewhere in the region, luxury all-inclusive resorts are also a focus for Hyatt, as is India, where local architecture firm Amit & Associates recently designed the 135-room Ronil Goa, a conversion property that is part of the JdV by Hyatt portfolio.

Propelled by a number of 2023 openings in Japan and Vietnam, Hilton is looking ahead to Hanoi, Tokyo, Osaka, and Sydney for its Waldorf Astoria brand, and Six Senses is venturing to Kyoto, as well as to Bangkok with the Forestias, found inside a green development that is home to the brand’s first membership club in the region.

The handiwork of Blink Design Group, a rendering of the soothing lobby in the Six Senses Kyoto, debuting in May

Later this year, Accor is expanding with the 300-key Sofitel Shanghai North Bund and the Pullman Taizhou Xianju in Zhejiang Province. Beyond China, the original Raffles in Singapore will be joined by the 62-villa Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa, its beachy sibling just off the coast. The brand will spike its presence in India with a 50-suite property in Jaipur, while Ennismore will deepen its imprint on the region with the 345-room 25Hours Hotel the Oddbird in Jakarta and the 120-room Hyde Perth, the brand’s first Australian outpost.

Australia is also key to 1 Hotels’ growth. A 277-key property on the Yarra River in Melbourne—courtesy of local firms Fender Katsalidis and ODO, New York-based Ward + Gray, and the in-house team at SH Hotels & Resorts—sports a biophilic design. “Over [three miles] of recycled timber will be featured, coming from previously demolished structures from within the site and the state of Victoria as a whole,” says Leal. “It truly places nature at the forefront.”

With renovations and conversions outnumbering new construction opportunities globally, people still traveling in droves, and strong operating performance, “owners will make money,” says Ford. “You should feel good about the hotel industry in 2024.”

 

Photos and renderings by Simon Brown, Andrew Frazier, and Diego Ramos, and courtesy of Accor, Cardo Hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Wynn Resorts

This article originally appeared in HD’s February/March 2024 issue.