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NEW YORK LEADS the top 50 U.S. markets in hotel construction with 47 projects and 7,655 rooms currently underway, according to Lodging Econometrics. The city has a total of 78 projects and 13,549 rooms in its hotel construction pipeline, the 10th largest in the U.S. Projects set to start in the next 12 months include eight projects with 1,079 rooms, while early planning includes 23 projects with 4,815 rooms, according to LE's Q1 2024 Market Trend Report for New York, released before the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. Within the New York market, the three submarkets with the largest hotel construction pipelines are the New York City area (including Brooklyn East, the Bronx, and Staten Island) with 25 projects and 2,096 rooms, the report said. Similarly, the Midtown South area features 11 projects and 2,535 rooms, while the Midtown West/Times Square area has 10 projects and 4,131 rooms. Combined, these submarkets account for 59 percent of the projects and 65 percent of the rooms in the market's total construction pipeline.

THE U.S. HOTEL construction pipeline continued its growth at the end of the second quarter of 2022 as travel returned, according to Lodging Econometrics. The upscale and upper-midscale segments continue to lead the pipeline with 68 percent of projects. The total U.S. construction pipeline stands at 5,220 projects with 621,268 rooms during the second quarter. That is up 9 percent by projects and 4 percent by rooms, over the same period last year, according to the U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report from LE. There were 965 projects with 130,914 rooms currently under construction in the second quarter, down 17 percent by projects and 18 percent by rooms, year-over-year. As many as 2,009 projects with 232,163 rooms are scheduled to start in the next 12 months, up 9 percent by projects and 9 percent by rooms, over last year. According to the report, projects and rooms in early planning reached a record high at 2,246 projects with 258,191 rooms, up 26 percent by projects and 15 percent by rooms, compared to last year. "Improved demand and increased consumer sentiment and spending has led to record-high rates of travel and much improved hotel revenue over the last few months. The outlook for the industry is positive and growth is expected to continue throughout 2022, albeit at a decelerated pace than initially expected. The industry's ability to adapt to the constantly changing economic environment provides a positive outlook for hotel performance, and its eventual full recovery," the report said.

The Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is a hotel chain based in Hong Kong. It is the largest Asian-based deluxe-hotel group in the region. The Hotel chain happens in 1971, with its first hotel in Singapore and now has 55 deluxe hotels and resorts located in key Asian, Australian and Mid Eastern cities with a hotel-room inventory of over 27,000.

REVPAR FOR U.S extended-stay economy, mid-scale and upscale segments is recovering back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a report from consulting firm The Highland Group. Total extended-stay hotel occupancy is very close to the first quarter levels reported in 2016 and 2017 but below its peak years since 2015. "Overall, first quarter extended-stay hotel ADR was the highest ever reported in 2023 and all three segments have more than fully recovered their 2019 nominal ADR values," the report said. In its "2023 First Quarter U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels Report," Highland said the economy and mid-price extended-stay hotels made considerable gains in RevPAR relative to corresponding classes of all hotels between 2019 and 2023. Due to high concentration of rooms in urban markets, upscale extended-stay hotels have seen RevPAR decline slightly relative to all upscale class hotels. However, the gap is expected to narrow as urban markets make a full recovery, the report noted. "Rising interest rates and construction costs, as well as tightening loan underwriting, means extended-stay supply growth should be relatively low nationally for two to three years. Assuming the overall hotel industry does not endure a correction, extended-stay hotels should set more new performance records during the near term at least," says Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group.

IN MARCH, THE U.S. celebrated the achievements and history of women as part of Women's History Month. In recognition of the month, some hotel companies introduced or continued programs aimed at increasing women's role in the industry. In line with the Women's History Month theme this year "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories," Choice Hotels International kicked off its "HERtels at Choice Development Seminar" with nearly 40 franchise owners, general managers, and hotel associates in attendance. At the same time, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' "Women Own the Room" initiative has signed over 30 hotels across the U.S. and Canada in the first year of its launch. Also, California hotelier and philanthropist Sunil "Sunny" Tolani issued a special message for the month. HERtels by Choice Choice Hotels took the recently held Hunter Hotel Conference in Atlanta as a launch pad for its inaugural HERtels seminar. The event was held next door to the Marriott Marquis Atlanta, Hunter's venue, and is an enhancement of Choice's HERtels program that was launched in 2021. "While industry-wide parity is improving, with more female investors, directors, and leaders in hospitality than ever before, women entrepreneurs still face significant economic and societal barriers when it comes to hotel ownership and development. As an industry, we owe it to the next generation of hoteliers to change this statistic," said John Lancaster, vice president for emerging markets, franchise development and owner relationships, Choice Hotels International. "This initiative and the invaluable resources it provides is a natural extension of our industry-leading emerging markets program and our enduring commitment to helping growth-minded entrepreneurs further their unique ownership journey."

ALL RECOVERY INDICES of U.S. extended-stay hotels were lower compared to 2019 in May than in April, according to hotel investment advisors The Highland Group. The demand for economy extended-stay hotels declined 1.3 percent for the second consecutive month in May compared to same period last year mainly due to sharp increase in ADR in last few months, the report said. The U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels Bulletin: May 2022 by The Highland Group said that the extended-stay room supply growth was just 1.9 percent during the month. It is the second successive month that the growth was below 2 percent since 2013, and the eighth consecutive month of 4 percent or lower supply growth. The report added that the supply increase will be well below pre-pandemic levels during the near term. According to STR, all hotel room revenue was up 43 percent in May 2022 compared to last year. "In May, mid-price and upscale extended-stay segments reported their lowest monthly change in demand in 2022. Except for February 2021, due to the leap year in 2020, economy extended-stay hotels reported only the second monthly fall in demand in 23 consecutive months," the report said. "Overall hotel occupancy gained more than extended-stay hotels in May compared to one year ago, decreasing extended-stay hotel's occupancy premium to 12 percentage points, and remains within its long-term average range."

THE COLLECTIVE RECOVERY indices of U.S. extended-stay hotels exceeded 100 percent in November for the first time in 2021, according to hotel investment advisors Highland Group. The strongest gains were reported by mid-price and upscale extended-stay hotels. Economy extended-stay hotels continue to lead the RevPAR recovery during the month with a 22 percent gain compared to two years ago, according to "U.S. Extended-stay Hotels Bulletin: November 2021" report from the Highland Group. According to the report, the 4 percent increase in extended-stay room supply in November tied with October as the lowest monthly gain in 2021. "The impact to supply growth from reopening hotels closed during the pandemic is effectively over. Early indications are that mid-price and upscale supply growth should be well below pre-pandemic levels during the near term," the report said. "The overall hotel industry lost far more revenue than extended-stay hotels in 2020, so it is now recovering revenue more quickly." STR reported that all hotel room revenue was up 110 percent in November compared to a year ago.

Nearly six months after opening its doors, the Aloft Mooresville in Mooresville, North Carolina, made it official. Maya Hotels, led by co-founders J.D. Deva and Baldev Thakor, held its grand opening for the property on May 28. Local officials, including Mayor Miles Atkins, Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Qualls, Commissioner Thurman Houston, and Commissioner Gary West, attended the event at the 128-room hotel that actually opened in December. There was live music and special cocktails at the hotel bar. "Our first hotel in Mooresville was over 25 years ago and our belief in the potential of this area has not wavered since. The Aloft Mooresville is our fifth hotel investment in this town, and we could not be more excited," said Deva, CEO of Maya Hotels The hotel provided 50 new jobs for the area. "This celebration is the culmination of a very long and rewarding journey," said Thakor, vice president. "We feel that this brand is a perfectly unique addition to Mooresville, offering an upscale venue for guests and members of the community to have fun and unwind."

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL has completed its acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas for $675 million. The transaction includes Radisson's franchise business, operations and intellectual property. The merger, which was announced in June, will add Radisson's nine brands to Choice, bringing it to 624 hotels. "With the close of this transaction, Choice Hotels International has added approximately 67,000 rooms, expanding its presence in the higher revenue upper upscale and upscale full-service segments, and bolstering its core upper-midscale hospitality segment, particularly in the West Coast and Midwest of the U.S.," the company said in a statement. As part of the transaction, which covers properties in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the U.S., Choice will independently own and control the brands in the Americas and will work with Radisson to drive the growth, continuity and success of the brands, according to a joint press release from the companies. Choice's board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, and it was expected to close in the second half of 2022. It was funded by cash on hand and revolver borrowings and includes 10 Radisson Blu hotels, 130 Radisson hotels, 9 Radisson Individuals, 1 Park Plaza hotel, 4 Radisson RED hotels, 453 Country Inn & Suites by Radisson and 17 Park Inn by Radisson hotels, as well as the recently launched Radisson Inn & Suites and Radisson Collection brands.

More and more top luxury hotels now accept cryptos for rooms and hotel services. Other travel-related sites were already accepting cryptocurrencies before luxury hotels jumped on the bandwagon. The primary reason that travelers use cryptos is because of the favorable conversion rates that save hundreds of dollars over using credit cards. The cards are just as convenient to use because they're totally digital-based. FIVE OF THE TOP LUXURY HOTELS THAT ACCEPT CRYPTOS Among the benefits, using cryptos tends to be less expensive than other methods of payment. Five of the top luxury hotels that accept cryptos include the following properties. 1. CHEDI ANDERMATT, SWITZERLAND 2. SRI PANWA PHUKET 3. SANDMAN HOTELS OF CANADA AND THE U.K. 4. CASUAL HOTELES OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 5. PAVILIONS HOTELS & RESORT GLOBAL TRAVEL WITH UTMOST CONVENIENCE Bitcoin ranks as the most popular digital currency. The innovative payment method uses decentralized currency for efficiency, transparency and security.

MAGNUSON HOTELS HAS added a new hotel to its Magnuson Independent Collection portfolio, the Studios & Suites 4 Less Charlotte, in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the sixth hotel added to the Independent Collection by owner Ray Patel of Charlotte. The 126-room hotel is near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, The Billy Graham Library, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Levine Museum of the New South, according to Magnuson. The new hotel looks to draw a 52-week nonseasonal business base from the regional banking, finance, software, and biotech sectors. Charlotte is also home to the Research Triangle Park, a globally prominent research center with over 170 companies and federal agencies in the U.S. "When Ray Patel called us in 2005, he wanted to build his own brand called Studios & Suites 4 Less, and that is exactly what Ray did," said Thomas Magnuson, CEO of Magnuson Hotels. As Patel's team manages the Studios & Suites 4 Less brand and operations, Magnuson Hotels provides the technology, distribution, and marketing for the brand. "We appreciate our partnership with Magnuson Hotels, which is now entering its 17th year of consecutive increases," said Patel of Charlotte. "It is a pleasure and privilege to continually add new properties in our home market of Charlotte, North Carolina," he added.

THE U.S. HOTEL construction pipeline continued to grow in the third quarter, up 7 percent year-over-year by projects and rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics. The growth was moderate, with current project count 3 percent below and rooms 14 percent below the all-time high of 5,883 projects and 785,547 rooms reached in the second quarter of 2008. There were a total of 5,704 projects and 672,676 rooms in the construction pipeline by the end of the quarter, according to LE's Construction Pipeline Trend Report for the U.S. That's up from 5,572 projects with 660,061 rooms at the end of the second quarter. There were 1,063 projects with 140,331 rooms under construction at the close of the third quarter, an increase of 8 percent by projects and 4 percent by rooms YOY. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 2,234 projects with 257,729 rooms, up 8 percent YOY by projects and 9 percent by rooms. Projects and rooms in the early planning stage each increased 7 percent to stand at 2,407 projects with 274,616 rooms, just 27 projects and 5,296 rooms shy of the all-time high.

DALLAS TAKES THE lead in top five U.S. hotel construction markets in the third quarter of 2023, setting a record with 189 projects and 21,840 rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics. The top markets all saw growth in new openings as well. Atlanta follows closely with 140 projects and 17,775 Rooms, while Nashville comes next with 122 projects and 16,046 rooms. Phoenix recorded 119 projects, totaling 16,455 rooms, while the Inland Empire reported 117 projects comprising 11,784 rooms, according to the third quarter United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report by LE. New York City leads with the highest number of projects under construction, totaling 46, and 8,386 rooms at the close of the third quarter, LE said. Phoenix follows with 26 projects and 5,353 rooms, followed closely by Atlanta with 26 projects and 4,354 rooms. Dallas trails with 25 projects and 3,178 rooms, and the Inland Empire with 23 projects and 2,386 rooms.

Online hotel reservations are a popular method for booking hotel rooms. Travelers can book rooms on a computer by using online security to protect their privacy and financial information and by using several online travel agents to compare prices and facilities at different hotels.

NewcrestImage has opened a Hyatt Place in Amarillo, Texas, the company's fourth hotel in the city. The 91-room, four-floor hotel is the second property of a three-hotel, 300-room 'hotel campus' located at the I-40 Frontage Road and South Soncy Road intersection. The first property of the hotel complex, a 90-room Tru by Hilton, was opened in August 2018 and a 90-room Aloft by Marriott is scheduled to begin construction by mid-year of 2020. "We offer travelers three distinctive hotel experiences and styles at a single, high-visibility, high-traffic location," said Mehul Patel, Chairman, and CEO of NewcrestImage. The company owns and operates two other properties in Amarillo's downtown area, a 107-room Courtyard by Marriott in the historic Fisk Building and a 226-room Embassy Suites directly across from the Amarillo Civic Center complex.

THE U.S. LED the global hotel construction pipeline in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Lodging Econometrics. The global pipeline decreased 1 percent by projects during the period. The U.S. accounted for 35 percent of global construction pipeline with 4,814 hotels containing 581,953 rooms out of 13,770 projects containing 2,304,386 rooms in the global pipeline. The U.S. was followed by China at 27 percent of the global pipeline, and the two countries together account for 62 percent of all global projects, LE said in its latest trend report. During the fourth quarter, China's construction pipeline reached a new all-time high with 3,693 projects containing 700,567 rooms. This is followed by the UK with 313 hotels containing 48,770 rooms, Indonesia with 304 projects with 48,175 rooms, and Germany with 277 hotel projects with 48,827 rooms, the report said.

HAWKEYE HOTELS IS making its premier in downtown Milwaukee with a dual brand Home2 Suites by Hilton and Tru by Hilton along with a neighboring Holiday Inn Express. The hotel campus will employ more than 100 workers and provide a total of 331 rooms. The 115-room Home2 Suites and 100-room Tru will occupy one of the two buildings in the campus with the 116-room Holiday Inn Express next door. Along with being the first properties Hawkeye Hotels has opened in the city's downtown, each hotel is the first of its brand in that part of the city. "We are very excited to be a part of the Downtown Milwaukee community. Although the market has slowed down in recent times due to Covid, we are extremely optimistic that Downtown Milwaukee will continue to grow in the years to come," said Jay Patel, Hawkeye Hotels development manager. "We look forward to hosting a grand opening next year once it is safe to do so."

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL room revenues increased by $1.1 billion in 2023, similar to 2018 and 2019, though with a lower relative gain due to a larger room base, according to The Highland Group. All three extended-stay segments reported record-high room revenues in 2023, with the upscale segment leading despite previously lagging behind the pandemic recovery. The 6.1 percent increase in extended-stay hotel revenues outpaced the corresponding 5.5 percent gain reported by STR/CoStar for the overall hotel industry, the report said. However, extended-stay hotel supply experienced its smallest annual increase on record in 2023, at just 1.8 percent. Factors such as re-branding, de-flagging of non-compliant hotels, and sales to other sectors influenced supply fluctuations, a trend expected to persist into the first half of 2024, particularly with older extended-stay hotels remaining on the market. The report also highlighted a 6.6 percent increase in economy extended-stay supply, alongside modest gains in mid-price and upscale segments, primarily driven by conversions. New construction in the economy segment is estimated at around 3 percent of rooms open compared to one year ago.

The AC Hotel by Marriott Greenville Downtown is open in Greenville, South Carolina. It is owned by Auro Hotels led by Dharmendra D.J. Rama as president and CEO. The 8-story, 196-room upscale hotel is in Camperdown Plaza near Falls Park, the Reedy River, the Peace Center Performing Arts center, Kroc Center Greenville, the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Sirrine Stadium. It includes seven restaurants and bars, including the tapas bar Paloma, the rooftop Juniper and The Press Room speakeasy. "The opening of the AC Hotel Greenville Downtown and Paloma marks an exciting milestone for Auro Hotels," Rama said. "This project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity due to its location, scale, level of detail and amenities, as well as a unique opportunity to celebrate our hometown of Greenville. The hotel, along with the thoughtfully-curated food and beverage concepts, will be treasured by visitors and the local community for generations." Also, the hotel features more than 100 works by 35 local artists and 29,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

ATLANTA-BASED HOSPITALITY Lodging Systems has added two Budgetel Inn & Suites and two Haven Hotel properties to its portfolio, according to HLS. Currently, there are 37 Budgetel hotels with 3,813 rooms operating in 10 states plus China and 12 Haven Hotels with 698 rooms in nine states. Both the Budgetel hotels are in metro Atlanta, a 218-room conversion former Clarion, located on the north side of the city and a 121-room property in suburban Lilburn. The new Haven Hotels are 50-all suites, boutique property in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta and a 130-room property in Hazelwood, Missouri, a statement said. "Our brands are attracting owners who want to lower costs and boost profits, especially as our industry struggles to recover from two years of pandemic slowdown," said Doug Collins, chairman and CEO of HLS. "Among the most popular features of our contract are unlimited free online reservations, fewer mandated amenities, and an annual exit opportunity."