In Brief: Lodging Econometrics reported that the U.S. hotel construction pipeline contained 5,901 projects and 692,999 rooms at the end of the third quarter of 2026, with extended-stay developments accounting for 40% of all projects.
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Extended-Stay Hotels Make Up 40% of U.S. Construction Pipeline in Q3 2026 – Image Credit Unsplash
Pipeline totals and construction stages
The U.S. hotel construction pipeline totaled 5,901 projects with 692,999 rooms at the end of the third quarter of 2026, according to Lodging Econometrics’ quarterly pipeline report.
Of that total, 1,094 projects with 137,371 rooms were under construction. Another 2,175 projects, representing 246,793 rooms, were expected to begin construction during the following 12 months. Projects in the early planning stage totaled 2,632, with 308,835 rooms.
During the third quarter, construction began on 152 hotel projects containing 19,106 rooms. Developers also announced 195 new projects with 22,016 rooms during the period.
The data indicate that a substantial portion of the national hotel development pipeline remained in pre-construction stages. Projects scheduled to begin work within 12 months accounted for the second-largest share of the pipeline after those in early planning.
Chain-scale activity
The upper-midscale segment had the most hotel projects in the U.S. pipeline, totaling 2,206 projects and 211,553 rooms. The upscale segment followed with 1,257 projects and 157,225 rooms.
Together, upper-midscale and upscale hotels represented 66% of all projects in the pipeline and 63% of planned rooms. Midscale development amounted to 918 projects and 76,487 rooms.
Luxury development totaled 108 projects with 25,776 rooms. Lodging Econometrics said those totals were up 14% in project count and 19% in room count from the same quarter a year earlier.
The upper-upscale category included 375 projects and 66,028 rooms. Its project count was 3% higher than a year earlier. These figures show continued development activity across higher-priced hotel categories, while upper-midscale and upscale properties continued to represent the largest share of planned construction.
Conversions and renovations
Brand conversions represented another significant component of hotel investment activity. The conversion pipeline totaled 1,516 projects and 146,544 rooms, up 3% in projects from the third quarter of 2025.
Renovation activity added 525 projects and 105,365 rooms. Combined, renovations and conversions accounted for 2,041 projects with 251,909 rooms.
Conversions let hotel operators and owners change a property’s brand affiliation without building a new property. Renovations may involve upgrades to existing properties. The reported totals show that development activity was not limited to new hotel construction.
Extended-stay segment represents 40% of projects
Extended-stay hotel projects totaled 2,352 developments and 236,219 rooms, accounting for 40% of all projects and 34% of all rooms in the national pipeline.
Middle-tier extended-stay brands represented most of that activity. They accounted for 1,628 projects and 152,287 rooms, or 69% of the extended-stay pipeline. These brands alone represented 28% of every hotel project in the overall U.S. construction pipeline.
Upper-tier extended-stay hotels accounted for 575 projects and 66,866 rooms. Lower-tier extended-stay developments totaled 149 projects and 17,066 rooms.
Among extended-stay projects, 424 developments with 44,689 rooms were already under construction. A further 1,006 projects and 102,999 rooms were scheduled to start within the next 12 months. That segment was up 2% in projects and 1% in rooms compared with the prior year. Another 922 extended-stay projects, representing 88,531 rooms, were in early planning.
Shared-site developments
The pipeline also included 1,506 shared-site projects with 149,303 rooms. Lodging Econometrics defines a shared site as a development in which more than one hotel or lodging brand operates on a single property.
At the end of the quarter, 264 shared-site projects with 29,021 rooms were under construction. Another 607 projects with 58,364 rooms were scheduled to begin construction within 12 months, while 635 projects with 61,918 rooms were in early planning.
Upper-midscale hotels represented 44% of shared-site projects, the largest share among chain-scale categories. Shared-site projects can combine brands designed for different traveler types or price segments within one development.
Hotel openings through 2028
Through the third quarter, 407 new U.S. hotels with 46,031 rooms had opened in 2026. Lodging Econometrics expected another 191 projects with 22,160 rooms to open before year-end.
The firm projected that 2026 would end with 598 new hotels and 68,191 rooms, representing a 1.2% increase in hotel supply. For 2027, the forecast called for 668 new hotels with 72,667 rooms, a 1.3% supply increase.
For 2028, Lodging Econometrics forecast 775 hotel openings containing 86,377 rooms. That would represent a 1.5% increase in supply, based on the firm’s projections.