The latest Q1 2025 Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE) reveals a robust hotel construction landscape in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding China), with a total of 2,074 projects and 408,213 rooms in the pipeline. This marks a 3% year-over-year (YOY) increase in the number of projects and a 1% increase in room availability.
As of the end of the first quarter, the region has 872 projects comprising 198,640 rooms currently under construction, reflecting a 1% YOY growth in active projects. Meanwhile, 328 projects, totaling 66,559 rooms, are scheduled to begin construction within the next 12 months. Notably, the early planning phase achieved a record-high of 874 projects and 143,014 rooms, indicating a 7% YOY increase in projects and a 3% increase in rooms.
Among the standout segments in the APEC region, the upscale chain category saw its project count reach an all-time high with 519 projects and 103,815 rooms, representing a 9% increase in both projects and rooms compared to last year. The upper upscale segment also hit a record with 388 projects and 83,070 rooms, showing a 4% rise in projects and a 2% rise in rooms YOY. Collectively, these two chain scales account for 44% of the total projects and 46% of the rooms in the region’s pipeline.
Construction activity in the region exploded in Q1 2025, with 115 projects and 19,855 rooms breaking ground—a remarkable 55% year-over-year increase in projects and a 70% increase in rooms. The APEC region also announced 124 new projects, adding 20,181 rooms at the close of the quarter, while hotel renovations and brand conversions accounted for 211 projects and 43,230 rooms.
India leads the pack among APEC countries with a record-high of 693 projects and 88,884 rooms, representing a 19% increase in projects and a 27% increase in rooms YOY. Following India are Vietnam with 251 projects and 90,738 rooms (up 5% in projects and 7% in rooms) and Thailand with a record-high of 170 projects and 43,730 rooms (up 6% in projects and 18% in rooms). Indonesia and Japan complete the top five with 170 and 164 projects, respectively. Together, these five countries represent 70% of the projects in the region’s total pipeline.
Cities in the APEC region with the largest project pipelines include Bangkok, Thailand, with 71 projects and 17,531 rooms (up 6% in projects and 13% in rooms), followed by Jakarta, Indonesia, with 45 projects and 10,135 rooms, and Phuket, Thailand, with 39 projects and 9,810 rooms. Melbourne, Australia, boasts 35 projects and 6,655 rooms, while Bengaluru, India, rounds out the top five with 32 projects and 6,282 rooms, marking significant YOY growth of 39% in projects and 46% in rooms.
During the first quarter, 65 new hotels with a total of 11,151 rooms opened in the APEC region, with an additional 296 hotels forecast to open, adding 58,972 rooms by the end of 2025. LE anticipates a total of 361 new hotels and 70,123 rooms to debut by the year’s end, with 311 new hotels and 63,544 rooms expected to open in 2026. This exciting growth reflects a burgeoning travel sector poised for a bright future in the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern regions.
