Mexico Leads Latin America Hotel Development Pipeline; 2028 Openings Forecast Rises :: Hospitality Trends

Pipeline growth driven by early planning

Lodging Econometrics reported that Latin America had 759 hotel projects in its construction pipeline at mid-2026, representing 111,340 rooms. The total number of projects increased slightly from the previous year, according to the firm’s Q2 2026 Latin America Construction Pipeline Trend Report.

Of the projects in the pipeline, 284, containing 43,840 rooms, were under construction. A further 172 projects, with 27,149 rooms, were expected to begin construction within the following 12 months.

The largest increase was recorded in the early planning stage. That category contained 303 projects and 40,351 rooms, an increase of 22% in project count and 17% in room count compared with the same period a year earlier. Early planning projects have not necessarily begun construction and may be subject to changes in financing, approvals, design or market conditions.

Development spread across hotel segments

Luxury, upscale and upper midscale hotels each accounted for 140 projects in the regional pipeline. The luxury segment accounted for 23,141 rooms, while the upscale segment accounted for 20,291 rooms. Upper midscale projects accounted for 18,402 rooms.

The upper upscale segment had 133 projects and 22,869 rooms. These figures show that development activity was distributed across several lodging categories rather than concentrated in a single segment.

The report did not provide individual brand or operator details for the projects. It also did not identify how many developments are independent hotels compared with properties affiliated with hotel chains.

Mexico remains the largest national market

Mexico had the largest hotel development pipeline in Latin America, with 234 projects and 33,131 rooms. The country represented 31% of all projects in the regional pipeline.

Brazil ranked second, with 140 projects and 20,181 rooms. The Dominican Republic followed with 85 projects and 17,085 rooms. Combined, Mexico, Brazil and the Dominican Republic accounted for 61% of projects and 63% of rooms planned across Latin America.

At the city level, Mexico City had the largest pipeline, with 25 projects and 2,737 rooms. Lima followed with 18 projects and 2,402 rooms. Georgetown, Guyana, had 15 projects and 2,058 rooms, while Riviera Maya had 14 projects and 1,606 rooms. Santo Domingo had 12 projects and 2,020 rooms.

Conversions and renovations add to supply plans

The report identified 159 conversion and renovation projects totaling 27,763 rooms. Such projects can include converting existing buildings into hotels, as well as hotels undergoing changes that affect their positioning, rooms or operations.

Conversions can expand hotel supply without requiring entirely new buildings, though project timelines and room counts can change during development. Lodging Econometrics said conversion activity reached its highest level on record as of the second quarter of 2026.

Openings forecast through 2028

During the first half of 2026, 35 hotels with 7,138 rooms opened across Latin America, according to the report. Lodging Econometrics forecast an additional 69 hotel openings with 16,782 rooms by the end of the year.

The report stated that 2026 would end with 104 new hotels and 16,920 rooms. However, the stated full-year room total does not match the combined total of the first-half openings and the projected second-half openings, which equals 23,920 rooms.

For 2027, Lodging Econometrics forecasts 114 hotel openings and 16,516 rooms. Its initial forecast for 2028 projected 123 hotel openings, adding 15,607 rooms to the region’s hotel supply.