In Brief: The Middle East hotel construction pipeline reached a record 771 projects and 188,960 rooms at the end of the third quarter of 2026, according to Lodging Econometrics.
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Blacksand and Marriott International Sign Deal for 10 Hotels in Saudi Arabia – Image Credit Marriott International
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Construction and Planning
The figures come from Lodging Econometrics’ third-quarter Middle East Construction Pipeline Trend Report. The report recorded the highest project and room totals in the region’s pipeline.
At the end of the quarter, 329 projects with 82,594 rooms were under construction. Those projects represented 43% of all projects in the pipeline and 44% of the rooms.
Another 184 projects, with 53,675 rooms, were scheduled to begin construction within the next 12 months. The project count in that category reached a record and was up 14% from a year earlier, while the room count rose 11%. The category represented 24% of pipeline projects and 28% of rooms.
Early planning accounted for 258 projects and 52,691 rooms. The room count was a record, and the category grew 55% by projects and 84% by rooms year over year. It represented 33% of projects and 28% of rooms in the regional pipeline.
Hotel Categories and Announcements
The luxury, upscale and upper-upscale categories each reached record project and room counts at the end of the quarter.
Luxury hotels accounted for 213 projects and 47,150 rooms, or 28% of projects and 25% of rooms in the total pipeline. Upscale hotels followed with 197 projects and 55,307 rooms, while upper-upscale hotels accounted for 191 projects and 45,677 rooms.
Together, the luxury and upscale categories represented 410 projects and 102,457 rooms. Their combined totals were up 12% by projects and 11% by rooms from a year earlier, accounting for 53% of projects and 54% of rooms in the regional pipeline.
There were 66 new project announcements involving 14,841 rooms during the third quarter. Hotel renovations and brand conversions together stood at 95 projects and 26,052 rooms, increases of 20% and 29%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Country and City Pipelines
Saudi Arabia had the region’s largest pipeline, with a record 401 projects and 109,320 rooms. Its totals rose 15% by projects and 16% by rooms year over year. The country accounted for 52% of regional projects and 58% of rooms.
Egypt followed with record totals of 192 projects and 40,661 rooms, up 47% and 42%, respectively. The United Arab Emirates had 111 projects and 26,800 rooms, followed by Oman with 27 projects and 4,618 rooms, and Iraq with 10 projects and 2,331 rooms.
Riyadh led cities with a record 114 projects and 23,049 rooms. Cairo had 71 projects and 14,663 rooms, while Dubai had 65 projects and 15,067 rooms. Jeddah recorded 63 projects and 14,384 rooms, and Makkah had 34 projects and 22,109 rooms.
The five cities together accounted for 347 projects and 89,281 rooms, up 23% by projects and 19% by rooms from a year earlier.
Hotel Openings Forecast
Through the third quarter of 2026, 36 hotels with 6,319 rooms had opened in the Middle East. Lodging Econometrics forecast another 28 hotels with 4,091 rooms would open in the fourth quarter, bringing the annual total to 64 hotels and 10,410 rooms.
The firm forecast 94 hotel openings with 14,716 rooms in 2027 and 96 openings with 22,101 rooms in 2028.