Nearly half of Europe’s pipeline now under construction at the end of Q1 2024

According to LE analysts, the region’s total pipeline stands at 1,705 projects/253,777 rooms at the close of the first quarter.

As of the first quarter's close, 45 per cent of the hotel projects in Europe’s total pipeline are in the under construction stage, standing at 762 projects and 117,815 rooms. Another 411 projects with 60,356 rooms are scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months, while 532 projects with 75,606 rooms are in the early planning stage, slightly below the record high reported in Q1 2023.

At Q1, upper upscale and upscale projects in Europe’s hotel construction pipeline increased slightly compared to 2023 totals, up 13 per cent and 5 per cent year-over-year (YOY) by projects, respectively. The upper upscale chain scale reached a record-high of 271 projects/45,122 rooms, while the upscale chain scale stands at 358 projects/57,153 rooms. Upper midscale projects closed the first quarter with 305 projects/46,020 rooms. These three chain scales account for 55 per cent of the projects in the region’s total construction pipeline.

Countries in Europe with the greatest number of projects in the pipeline at Q1 are led by the United Kingdom with 321 projects/45,257 rooms. Distantly following are Germany with 180 projects/28,816 rooms, France with 130 projects/14,268 rooms, Portugal with 120 projects/15,020 rooms, and Turkey with 116 projects and a record 18,277 rooms. These five countries account for 51 per cent of the projects and 48 per cent of the rooms in the region’s total pipeline at Q1.

European cities with the largest pipelines by project count at the close of the first quarter are London with 80 projects/14,987 rooms, Istanbul with 51 projects/8,814 rooms, Lisbon with 37 projects/4,349 rooms, Dublin with 27 projects/5,254 rooms, and Dusseldorf with 26 projects/4,798 rooms.

During the first quarter of 2024, 45 new hotels/5,961 rooms opened throughout Europe, with an additional 281 new hotels/39,129 rooms forecast to open in Q2-Q4. LE analysts forecast a total of 326 new hotels/45,090 rooms to open by year-end 2024. Looking ahead, the LE forecast for new openings in Europe will rise with 367 new hotels/52,605 rooms anticipated to open in 2025.