U.S. Hotel Construction Increased in December


Skift Take

  • After 25 consecutive months of year-over-year declines, U.S. hotel construction increased slightly in December.
  • Wells Fargo cut their price target on Airbnb to $130 from $165. They maintained their Overweight rating.
  • STR said US hotel RevPAR the week ended 1/14 was up 33.1%. RevPAR was up 9.4% versus the same week in 2019.

The DJIA fell 252 points, Nasdaq was down 105, the S&P 500 fell 30 points and the 10-year treasury yield was up .02 to 3.40%. It seemed like there were more lodging stocks in the green than the red despite the overall market. The two biggest movers were to the downside with SLNA down -7% and VCSA falling -6% on the day.

Wells Fargo cut their price target on Airbnb to $130 from $165. They maintained their Overweight rating.

Truist held a conference call with corporate travel data company TRIPBAM. Takeaways included that volume in early January is down 30% in the US for the trailing 30 days compared to the same period of early 2020. The gap is anticipated to close to 20% in 1Q 2023. Truist believes the strength of volume recovery in early 2023 may provide a read-through on permanent versus temporary Covid-related corporate travel demand loss. Corporate room rates are said to be down 2% lower than in January 2020. Corporate buyers expect hoteliers to raise room rates due to rising operating costs. Large markets that have seen a slower recovery like NYC, Chicago and LA, have rebounded of late but San Francisco’s recovery is still relatively weaker.

After 25 consecutive months of year-over-year declines, U.S. hotel construction increased slightly in December, according to pipeline data from STR. December 2022 (percentage change in comparison with December 2021): in construction: 159,344 rooms (+0.3%); final planning: 213,066 rooms (+15%); and planning: 240,092 rooms (-15.6%). When looking at the in-construction phase of the pipeline, luxury chains show the highest number of rooms as a percentage of existing supply: Luxury (5.3%, 7,241 rooms); Upscale (4.6%, 41,111); Upper Midscale (3.7%, 43,946); Upper Upscale (3.0% 20,140); Midscale (2.5%, 10,766); and Economy (0.9%, 6,482 rooms). NYC leads the major markets in rooms in construction as a percentage of existing supply: New York City (8.5%, 10,944 rooms); Phoenix (7.1%, 4,968); Phoenix (7.1%, 4,968); Dallas (5.0%, 4,877); Nashville (4.8%, 2,746); and Detroit (4.7%, 2,192 rooms). 

STR said US hotel RevPAR the week ended 1/14 was up 33.1%. RevPAR was up 9.4% versus the same week in 2019. 

IHG Hotels & Resorts is celebrating recent successes and upward momentum for voco hotels. With 10 new openings in 2022, bringing its global total to