US: Though much of hospitality has shut due to the global coronavirus pandemic, new data reveals continued growth in hotel construction.
According to data intelligence firm STR, there were over 214,000 rooms under construction at the end of March.
This construction is persisting in spite of many American states instituting lockdown procedures and mandating all non-essential personnel stay at home. However, STR believes that this boom will slow as construction indicators often lag behind other economic categories.
STR VP of Lodging Insights Jan Freitag said to Skift: “The number of rooms in construction will likely remain high, just as it did during the pre-recession peak. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the industry is no longer operating in a record-setting demand environment, so there isn’t the same rush to open hotels and tap into that business.”
According to data from EY, the results of the pandemic on commercial construction will not be fully seen until seven to nine months later.
Many major markets in the US saw over 6,000 rooms under construction over the month, including Las Vegas, Orlando and Los Angeles. New York, though heaviest hit by the virus, had over 14,000 rooms under construction through the month.
Many areas have attempted to curtail construction, however, due to concerns about safety. Boston has issued a moratorium on all construction efforts, while the Bay Area and Pennsylvania have placed a temporary restriction on all non-housing related construction.
Businesses are currently looking to the future while the industry is standing still. Preferred Hotels released a survey of probably future destinations, and HIX has announced its 2020 expo dates.
