• HOTELS
Rooms for growth Hotel investment and development are entering a new cycle, with global capital returning, luxury projects moving ahead and the Middle East pipeline proving resilient despite regional disruption
A fter several years of disrupted capital flows, uneven recovery and rising construction costs, the hotel sector moved into 2026 with renewed investor confidence. This was built on 2025 momentum: JLL says global hotel transaction volume were 22% above the 2023 trough, while hotels accounted for around 8% of global commercial real estate investment, which was above the long-term average. Resilient travel demand is a driving force, with international tourism demand and global air passenger traffic both set to grow around 2% in 2026, despite the Middle East conflict. At the same time, development remains highly selective. Investors are prioritising quality assets, resilient demand drivers, luxury, conversion opportunities and destinations where tourism policy is creating long-term room for growth. Nowhere is that clearer than the Middle East, where near-term volatility has not stopped the region’s construction pipeline from reaching a record high.
GLOBAL INVESTMENT CYCLE
GLOBAL HOTEL PIPELINE
15,922 Hotel projects in the global construction pipeline A record high
2.44mn Rooms in the global pipeline
1.06mn Rooms currently under construction
22% Rise in global hotel transaction volumes Up from the 2023 trough
8% Hotel market's share of global commercial real estate investment In 2025
2.1% Forecast growth in global air passenger
volumes In 2026
389,175 New rooms forecast to open globally in 2026
384,955 In 2027
$250mn+ Large-scale hotel transactions expected to increase As debt markets improve
The intel Lodging Econometrics’ Q2 2026 global pipeline report shows a record number of hotel projects worldwide, with almost 2.44 million rooms in the pipeline and more than one million already under construction.
The intel JLL says stronger debt markets, record dry powder and renewed confidence in hotel resilience are creating the conditions for higher investment activity in 2026.
WHAT IS BEING BUILT? THE GLOBAL PIPELINE
LUXURY 1,328 Hotel projects +8% y-o-y
UPPER UPSCALE 1,883 Projects +9% y-o-y
UPSCALE & UPPER MIDSCALE 8,358
CONVERSIONS 2,815 Projects +13% y-o-y
RENOVATIONS & CONVERSIONS 3,777 Projects +9% y-o-y
Projects combined The largest global pipeline segment
The intel Luxury, upper upscale and conversions are all at record highs globally, pointing to a market where owners are not only building new rooms, but also repositioning existing assets.
Travellers will pay more for great room location
86 | ATM YEARBOOK 2026
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator