China's total construction pipeline was at an all-time high, according to Lodging Econometrics.
Hilton Worldwide led the pipeline, with Hampton by Hilton the most popular of its brands.
The study identified 3,533 projects and 645,764 rooms, up 24% by projects and 9% by rooms, year-on-year.
In contrast, in the first quarter, China opened an all-time low of 84 new hotels/13,283 rooms. This was largely due to the delays in construction caused by COVID-19 and the nationwide lockdown. China’s pipeline had the longest stretch of days affected by COVID-19 in the first quarter.
Hilton Worldwide had 504 projects/102,495 rooms, with InterContinental Hotels Group at 384 projects/82,496 rooms, and Marriott International with 340 projects/93,254 rooms, all three companies setting record highs. Next was JinJiang Holdings, with 313 projects/31,401 rooms and AccorHotels with 213 projects/35,309 rooms.
Hampton by Hilton was at an all-time high, with 309 projects/47,941 rooms. Hilton's second-largest brand in the country was DoubleTree, with 62 projects/17,195 rooms. IHG's primary brand in China was Holiday Inn Express, at a record count, with 186 projects/32,038 rooms and then Holiday Inn with 60 projects/14,904 rooms. Marriott International's top brands were Marriott Hotel & Resort with 77 projects/23,229 rooms and Fairfield Inn with 42 projects/6,352 rooms. Leading brands for JinJiang Holdings were Vienna Hotel with 130 projects/12,700 rooms, and 7 Days Inn with 110 projects/8,656 rooms. AccorHotels' leading brands are the Ibis brands with 90 projects/9,315 rooms, and Mercure Hotel, at an all-time high, with 61 projects/9,835 rooms.
Research by LE's market intelligence team showed that 90% of the hotels in China reopened at the end of April, with hotel occupancies bouncing back. Additionally, at least 40% of hotel construction projects in major cities had resumed, with most projects estimating a delay of only two to four months. City and state-level projects were receiving the highest priority to receive materials, a workforce, and are being pushed towards completion. Smaller contractors continue to struggle to finish projects due to the lack of and an increasing price of labor and construction materials available.