STR Reports Global Hotel Pipelines for November 2010

According to the November 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report, the Asia Pacific hotel development pipeline comprises 1,089 hotels totalling 268,821 rooms.

Year-to-date 2010, 296 projects opened in the region with 57,495 rooms. There are 80 projects with 13,259 rooms in the region that are still expected to open in 2010. Looking ahead to 2011, there are 444 projects comprising 101,807 expected to open, and in 2012, there are 350 projects with 99,781 rooms expected to open.

In 2011, the Upper Upscale segment is expected to add the most rooms with 26,306 rooms. The Upscale segment is projected to open the most rooms (24,906) in 2012 among the Chain Scale segments.

"At year end, supply growth for Asia Pacific will only be surpassed by supply growth in the Middle East / Africa," said Elizabeth Randall, managing director at STR Global. "These two regions were the main focus of hotel development this year, as they were at the end of 2009. There is still great potential for branded supply in these emerging destinations, and with the strong economies in these markets, we expect 2011 to continue to be dominated by development in Asia Pacific and the Middle East / Africa."

Caribbean / Mexico Hotel Pipeline for November 2010

According to the November 2010 STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report, the Caribbean / Mexico hotel development pipeline comprises 134 hotels totaling 18,725 rooms.

Among the countries in the region, Haiti reported the largest expected growth (30%) if all 492 rooms in the total active pipeline open. Other countries expecting strong growth include: St. Kitts/Nevis (13% expected growth with 235 rooms in the total active pipeline); Anguilla (12% with 80 rooms); Turks & Caicos (12% with 370 rooms); Bahamas (11% with 1,854 rooms); and Dominica (11% with 78 rooms).

Central / South America Hotel Pipeline for November 2010

The Central / South America hotel development pipeline comprises 127 hotels totalling 20,175 rooms.

Among the Chain Scale segments, the Upper-Upscale segment made up the largest portion of rooms in the In Construction phase with 33.8% and 3,384 rooms. Two other segments each accounted for more than 15% of rooms in the In Construction phase: the Upscale segment (19.7% with 1,977 rooms) and the Midscale with Food and Beverage segment (17.6% with 1,760 rooms).

The Upscale segment accounted for the largest portion of the total active pipeline with 26.4% and 5,335 rooms, followed by the Upper Upscale segment with 25.2% and 5,083 rooms. The Unaffiliated segment made up the smallest portion of the total active pipeline with 5.1% and 1,031 rooms.

"The main development focus across the region is on Upper Upscale and Upscale projects, as companies bring their premium brands into the markets," Ms. Randall said. "The most projects in terms of number of rooms across Central and South America are in Brazil and Panama. Increased stabilization in Colombia has garnered the country more interest from the development community; it now has 1,996 rooms in the pipeline."

Europe Hotel Pipeline for November 2010

The Europe hotel development pipeline comprises 732 hotels totalling 124,348 rooms.

Among the Chain Scale segments, the Upscale segment accounted for the largest portion of rooms in the total active pipeline with 21.3% and 26,490 rooms. Two other segments each made up more than 15% of rooms in the total active pipeline: the Unaffiliated segment (19.6% with 24.348 rooms) and the Upper Upscale segment (15.6% with 19,404 rooms).

"Upscale brands make up most of the European pipeline (26,490 rooms), followed by independent hotels (24,348 rooms)," said Ms. Randall. "The luxury and economy scales, which usually receive most of the attention, currently have 12,137 and 15,539 rooms in the pipeline, respectively. The midmarket is still getting a lot of attention by catering to the traveller who may not be able to afford the luxury end but would prefer more services and amenities. The midmarket is therefore still getting a lot of attention to cater for the traveller who maybe cannot afford to stay at the luxury end but would prefer more services and amenities as the budget segment offers."

Middle East / Africa Hotel Pipeline for November 2010

The Middle East / Africa hotel development pipeline comprises 437 hotels totalling 118,759 rooms.

Among the region's countries, the United Arab Emirates ended the month with the largest number of rooms in the In Construction phase with 24,251 rooms. Saudi Arabia followed with 6,344 rooms in the In Construction phase. Three other countries reported more than 3,000 rooms in the In Construction phase: Qatar (4,927 rooms); Jordan (4,006 rooms); and Egypt (3,800 rooms).

"The UAE and Saudi Arabia still are seeing the majority of hotel rooms in the pipeline as well as in the construction phase," Ms. Randall said. "The UAE dominates the total active pipeline with 49,382 rooms, of which almost half are in construction. Qatar, which recently was named host city for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, has 6,192 rooms in the pipeline, of which 4,927 are under construction. With the interest building to the 2022 World Cup, we expect these numbers to increase over the coming years. Egypt, which has the third most rooms in the total active pipeline, is getting surpassed by Qatar and Jordan, which both have lesser rooms in the overall pipeline but more rooms under construction."

See recent travel news from: Travel News Asia, STR, Pipeline, November 2010