Europe’s hotel construction pipeline expanded to near-record highs at the end of the first quarter, according to Lodging Econometrics.
The company said that there were 1,840 projects and 294,047 rooms, a 10% increase in projects and a 15% increase in rooms, year-over-year.
Similar to other pipelines around the world, Europe’s hotel construction pipeline was experiencing temporary delays of approximately two to four months. Hotel construction across the region varied by country; some countries had resumed construction while others were still waiting for guidance on precautionary measures, guidelines and start dates.
The UK led the construction pipeline with 342 projects with an all-time high of 52,231 rooms, and then Germany with 323 projects/58,935 rooms. France follows with 172 projects/21,070 rooms. Next is Portugal with 120 projects and a record 13,049 rooms and then Poland with 92 projects/14,529 rooms.
The cities in Europe with the largest pipelines were London with 96 projects and an all-time high 18,055 rooms, Dusseldorf at 58 projects/11,290 rooms, and Paris at 39 projects/6,108 rooms. Next is Hamburg, with 34 projects/7,294 rooms and then Lisbon with 33 projects/3,116 rooms.
Accor was the leading franchise company with the largest European pipeline by projects with 238 projects/32,763 rooms; followed closely by Marriott International, with 227 projects/37,764 rooms. Hilton Worldwide is next with an all-time high of 195 projects/30,289 rooms, then InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 160 projects/25,632 rooms. These four global franchise companies account for 45% of all projects in Europe’s pipeline.
The leading brands for these four companies were Ibis brands with 108 projects/13,779 rooms and then Novotel and Mercure Hotels with 25 projects/3,890 rooms and 25 projects/3,177 rooms, respectively. Marriott International’s top brands are Moxy with 75 projects/13,386 rooms, Courtyard by Marriott had 28 projects/4,892 rooms, and Autograph Collection with 20 projects, and an all-time high of 1,909 rooms.