This year is shaping up to be a healthy one for the U.S. hotel industry, with more 33,000 new rooms planned in the top 10 most active markets.
According to industry research firm Lodging Econometrics, the top market by far is New York City, with an estimated 8,612 new rooms in the pipeline for 2017.
“The rooms opening in these markets will be the first wave of new hotel supply in a healthy hotel market for owners,” says Bruce Ford, senior vice president of development at Lodging Econometrics.
CBRE Hotels’ America’s Research, which tracks the industry, also puts New York City at the top of the market with a 6.4% increase over last year, the largest increase of any region.
Both firms named these other cities among the most active markets in the USA: Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Lodging Econometrics also pointed to Charlotte, Denver, Seattle, Austin, and Tampa as healthy places for hotel development.
CBRE is also seeing a notable percentage growth in room supply in Washington, D.C., Orlando, Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Diego. The U.S. average percentage growth in supply is estimated at 1.8%, according to CBRE.
New York City will see a big increase in a category called select-service hotels. These properties typically offer similar in-room amenities to full-service hotels but have fewer meeting spaces and restaurants. They are popular with hotel owners because they are cheaper to build and run, and they are popular with travelers because they are more reasonably priced yet still offer amenities.
“This is an urban center trend that is spreading throughout the world,” Ford says.
Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization, says the city is on track to receive a record 60.3 million visitors in 2016.
“For hotels, it has meant a steady increase in hotel room nights sold—the key metric of demand—among our 111,000 rooms, which has also supported ongoing investments in new developments,” he says.
