According to the latest Europe Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), analysts report that at the close of the third quarter of 2021, Europe’s hotel construction pipeline stands at 1,814 projects and 295,719 rooms; and remains largely unchanged year-over-year (YOY).
Much like other regions around the world, Europe’s hotel industry continues to face challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, travel activity has been rebounding over recent months, a positive and welcomed step toward industry recovery. Successful vaccination programs throughout the region have played a vital role in the easing of entry requirements and enhancing the appeal of international travel to European countries. Containment efforts will continue to play a critical role in the region’s path to recovery as more countries reopen their borders and projects in early planning continue to move through the pipeline to opening.
Presently, there are 870 projects/144,463 rooms under construction, down 6% by projects and 5% by rooms YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 444 projects/71,655 rooms, down 7% by projects and 5% by rooms YOY. Projects in the early planning stage are at cyclical highs in Q3, standing at 500 projects/79,601, up 15% and 22% YOY, respectively.
Leading countries in Europe’s construction pipeline are the U.K. with 335 projects/52,086 rooms, Germany with 271 projects/48,883 rooms, France with 156 projects/18,680 rooms, Portugal with 120 projects/14,521 rooms and Poland with 86 projects/12,628 rooms.
The European cities with the largest pipelines are London with 86 projects/15,480 rooms, Dusseldorf, Germany, with 53 projects/10,368 rooms and Paris with 38 projects/6,238 rooms, followed by Lisbon, Portugal, with 35 projects/4,120 rooms and Istanbul with a cyclical high of 31 projects accounting for 6,419 rooms.
Accor leads franchise companies in Europe with the largest pipeline by projects, at 271 projects/40,192 rooms. Marriott International follows with 207 projects/33,932 rooms. Next is Hilton with 203 projects/31,650 rooms then InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 145 projects/22,012 rooms. These four companies make up 46% of the total hotel construction pipeline in Europe.
The leading brands for these top companies are Accor’s Ibis brands with 94 projects/11,153 rooms and its Novotel brand, reaching a cyclical peak, with 32 projects/5,231 rooms. Marriott International’s leading brands are Moxy with 48 projects/8,294 rooms and Courtyard by Marriott with 24 projects/5,175 rooms. Hilton’s Hampton by Hilton brand has 78 projects/ 12,035 rooms followed by its Hilton Garden Inn brand with 43 projects/7,382 rooms. IHG’s Holiday Inn Express ends the quarter with 56 projects/8,818 rooms and Holiday Inn with 21 projects/4,735 rooms.
During the third quarter, Europe opened 122 hotels/18,431 rooms, bringing the total number of new hotels opened through the period to 339 hotels, accounting for 49,880 rooms. LE experts forecast another 116 projects with 15,334 rooms to open during the fourth quarter. The LE forecast for new hotel openings expects 460 new hotels to open, accounting for 70,014 rooms, in 2022 and 492 new hotels /76,145 rooms to open in 2023.