The hotel construction pipeline in Europe remains robust with 1,680 projects, driven by upper-scale segments and strong growth forecasts for new hotel openings through 2026.

According to findings by American hospitality analysts Lodging Econometrics Q2 2024 Europe Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report, total pipeline stands at 1,680 projects with a total of 249,454 rooms in Q2 2024.

The report says that hotel projects currently under construction in Europe at Q2 stand at 755 projects with 117,908 rooms, representing 45 pc of the projects and 47 pc of the rooms in the total pipeline.

It adds that projects planned to start construction in the next 12 months account for 412 projects that have 59,850 rooms, making up 25 pc of the projects and 24 pc of the rooms.

Projects in the early planning stage comprise 513 projects with 71,696 rooms, accounting for 31 pc of the projects and 29 pc of the rooms in the total pipeline.

The statement adds that most pipeline projects in Europe are concentrated in the upper upscale, upscale and upper midscale chain scales.

The upscale chain scale leads with 358 projects with 55,936 rooms, accounting for 21 pc of the pipeline. The upper midscale segment follows closely with 335 projects with 50,566 rooms, representing 20 pc of the pipeline.

Upper upscale projects account for 16 pc of the total projects, reaching a record-high 268 projects with 43,417 rooms and showing a 9 pc increase in projects year-over-year.

Notably, renovation and conversion projects in Europe reached an all-time high of 825 projects with 95,519 rooms in the second quarter, the statement adds.

The top countries in Europe’s construction pipeline are the United Kingdom, with 306 projects and 43,515 rooms, Germany with 178 projects and 28,637 rooms, France with 120 projects covering 12,831 rooms, Türkiye with 117 projects having 17,856 rooms, and Portugal with 114 projects and 14,247 rooms.

These five countries combined account for 50 pc of the projects and 47 pc of the rooms in Europe’s total pipeline and are expected to lead in new hotel openings through 2026.

The cities with the largest pipelines are London where 76 projects with 14,954 rooms are under construction. Second on the list is Istanbul in Türkiye with 50 projects and 8,397 rooms, Lisboa in Portugal with 36 projects and 4,425 rooms, Irish capital Dublin with 26 projects and 5,012 rooms, and Dusseldorf in Germany with 24 projects and 4,448 rooms.

According to the report, Europe experienced significant growth in new hotel openings during the second quarter with 81 hotels and 10,569 rooms opening, a 72 pc increase compared to the first quarter.

In total, 128 new hotels with 16,829 rooms opened throughout Europe in the first and second quarters.

LE analysts forecast an additional 202 new hotels with 27,106 rooms to open in the third and fourth quarters, bringing the total forecast for new openings in 2024 to 330 hotels with 43,935 rooms.

As a result of the number of hotel projects currently under construction in Europe, the LE forecast for new hotel openings will continue to climb in the coming years.

LE predicts continued growth in new hotel openings, with 368 new hotels and 52,760 rooms scheduled to open in 2025. The new hotel openings forecast for 2026 shows a further increase, with 427 new hotels with 59,606 rooms expected to open.