U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Drops 21% in December

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According to the December 2010 STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report released this week, the total active U.S. hotel development pipeline comprises 3,049 projects totaling 317,343 rooms. This represents a 20.9-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to December 2009.

The total active pipeline data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages, but does not include projects in the Pre-Planning stage.

"New York City's rooms under construction continue to lead the charge with the most number of rooms and highest percentage increase in new supply," said Lana Yoshii, VP of content management at STR. "Its 6,000 rooms under construction are almost twice the number of rooms under construction in Washington, D.C. Only five markets (New York, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Houston and Dallas) have at least 1,000 rooms under construction compared to11 markets in December 2009. Overall, hotel construction activity has moderated considerably, which is a promising sign for hotel operators still working to induce demand after these difficult economic times."

Among the Top 10 Markets by number of rooms in construction, Houston, Texas (-58 percent with 1,602 rooms), and Atlanta, Georgia (-58 percent with 993 rooms) reported the largest decrease in rooms in the In Construction phase. Two of the markets ended the month with increases in rooms in the In Construction phase: Washington, D.C. (24 percent with 3,135 rooms), and Orlando, Florida (12 percent with 2,143 rooms).

U.S. pipeline Top 10 Markets by number of rooms in construction:

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