The growing metroplex of Dallas-Fort Worth now has the most hotels under development or construction in the country. According to the Dallas Business Journal, there are currently 165 hotel projects with 19,730 rooms.
According to Lodging Econometrics researchers, by the end of the first quarter, DFW had the most projects set to launch in the next 12 months, with 56 hotels totaling 6,537 rooms. Dallas-Fort Worth also had the most hotels in early planning, with 84 projects and 9,495 rooms.
Last quarter, more than 5,000 new hotels with more than 600,000 rooms were under construction across the country, up nearly 2% from last year.
The outbreak of COVID-19 impacted hotels heavily, and numerous hotel construction projects were canceled or put on hold across the country.
Early in the pandemic, funding became harder to access, and building expenses increased due to a shortage of supplies, according to Sloan Dean, the president and CEO of Dallas-based Remington Hotels.
However, Dean said the hotel industry’s recovery from pandemic challenges comes with its own anxieties, particularly as the travel sector has begun to surge. Supply is continuing to expand rapidly as more hotel projects get underway, pressuring existing hotels in the broader Metroplex.
“With having a lot of businesses move from California to Texas and relocating here, the demand will compensate some of the supply growth,” said Dean.
JW Marriott in downtown Dallas is one hotel currently under construction. The new 15-story hotel will cost more than $125 million to build and sit above a 10-story parking garage.
Hotel chains Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and InterContinental Hotels Group accounted for 67% of all projects across the country last quarter.
Following DFW for most extensive hotel construction, Atlanta has 135 projects in progress with 17,646 rooms, in front of Los Angeles with 123 projects and 20,176 rooms, and New York with 122 projects and 20,864 rooms.