Will U.S. Hotel Rooms Under Construction Continue on a Steady Upward Climb through 2014
The American economy has bounced back from the dark days of the 2008/2009 recession. The signs are everywhere. The National unemployment rate is just about 7 percent and, in many states, it has fallen below that benchmark. The stock market has been setting record highs. Ben Bernanke saw the cold, hard figures and concluded that the economy is now strong enough that the Federal Reserve will start tapering.
What does all of this have to do with the fact that the U.S. hotel development pipeline is flowing at a much faster rate in November, 2013 compared to November, 2012? Well, the hotel industry is a very good indicator of the health of the economy. When people have more confidence in the economy and more money to spend, they travel.
According to the data provided in the November 2013 STR Pipeline Report, only one conclusion can be made. The American hotel industry, as a whole, is very optimistic about the future.
The Report, which includes active pipeline data for hotel projects in the construction, planning, and final planning stages, showed a significant increase in the total number of new rooms that will soon be added to the nation’s hotel room inventory.
National
Nationally, in November of 2013, there were 2,807 projects at some stage in the active pipeline. Those projects represent a total of 339,602 rooms. Compared to November of 2012, the November 2013 active pipeline increased by 13.5 percent. Even more significant is the 35.8 percent increase in the number of rooms under construction.
Some areas of the country were more active than others. The report analyzed the major regions in the country. Most were up substantially in year-over-year comparisons with just one region showing negative numbers.
East North Central
This region includes IL, IN, MI, OH, and WI
28,378 rooms in pipeline, up 15.2 percent
East South Central
This region includes AL, KY, MS, and TN
18,612 rooms in pipeline, down 3.3 percent
Mountain
This region includes AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, and WY
37,066 rooms in pipeline, up 17.4 percent
Mid-Atlantic
This region includes D.C., DE, MD, NJ, PA, NY, VA, and WV
56,717 rooms in pipeline, up 7.2 percent
Pacific
This region includes AK, CA, HI, OR, and WA
42,371 rooms in pipeline, up 25.2 percent
New England
This region includes CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, and VT
11,154 rooms in pipeline, up 17.2 percent
South Atlantic
This region includes DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, and WV
72,528 rooms in pipeline, up 12.7 percent
West North Central
This region includes IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, and SD
18,766 rooms in pipeline, up 17.9 percent
West South Central
This region includes AR, LA, OK, and TX
54,010 rooms in pipeline, up 14.4 percent
While the findings from this report do not use metrics like RevPAR and occupancy rates to measure demand and show relative pricing power, they are a strong indication that hotel executives feel positive about the direction in which the hotel market is heading. More rooms are being added in all regions of the country and that bodes well for both the industry and the national economy.
Related articles
- Hilton picked a good time to go public: The hotel industry is booming (washingtonpost.com)
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