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The Middle East and Africa was the only region to show an uptick in hotel pipeline activity at the end of 2022, according to the latest data from STR.
As of December 2022, a total of 238,635 hotel rooms were under contract in the region, up by 1.1% compared with the same month in 2021, STR said in a new report.
At least 41,086 rooms were in their final planning stage last month, up by 6%, while another 74,863 rooms were in the planning phase, up by 11.5% from December 2021.
Overall, at least 122,686 rooms were under construction, down by 5.8% compared to December 2021.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE dominated the construction activity, accounting 40,742 rooms and 27,456 rooms, respectively.
In other markets, hotel pipeline activity was down, with Europe registering an 11.2% decline in the total number of rooms under contract.
In Asia Pacific, a total of 891,236 rooms were under contract, down by 5.4%. The Americas had 736,823 rooms under contract, down by 3.2%.
The US held the majority of rooms in construction (159,344) in the region and showed its first year-over-year increase in the phase since late 2020, STR said. After the US, Mexico (11,398) and Canada (6,752) had the highest number of rooms in construction in the region.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
