43,865 New Hotel Rooms Opened in U.S. During 2012

---

According to the latest STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report, the U.S. hotel industry during 2012 opened 407 new properties with 43,865 rooms.

"Net U.S. room supply growth in 2012 should be 0.5 percent when the final numbers are in, the second consecutive year of very low room capacity gains for the industry," said Bobby Bowers, senior VP of operations at STR. "We anticipate higher supply growth this year and are expecting a full year net room increase of about 1 percent in 2013. Once again, Upscale and Upper Midscale segment rooms should lead all segments in new room openings, while Upper Upscale openings are expected to increase significantly."

Among the Chain Scale segments, the Upper Midscale segment opened the most rooms in 2012 with 15,700 rooms in 166 projects. The segment reported a 0.6-percent decrease in the number of rooms that opened in 2012 compared with 2011. The Upper Midscale segment was followed by the Upscale segment, which opened 11,819 rooms in 85 properties during 2012, and the Independent segment, which opened 7,216 rooms in 52 properties. The Luxury segment opened the smallest number of new rooms in 2012 (233 rooms in one property).

In 2013, the U.S. hotel industry is expecting 817 properties with 87,301 rooms to open. Among the Chain Scale segments, the Upper Midscale segment is expected to open the largest number of rooms in 2013 with 33,432 in 362 properties. The Upscale segment (29,562 rooms in 229 properties) and the Unaffiliated segment (10,126 rooms in 86 properties) also are expected to open a significant number of new rooms in 2013.

Properties and Rooms opened in 2012 by Chain Scale segment



The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline comprises 2,634 projects totaling 304,077 rooms, according to the December 2012 STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report. This represents a 1.2-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared with December 2011.