Many new Chinese hotels are under development

Once the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, China is expected to revive its hotel industry. According to data from Lodging Econometrics, 3,659 hotels, and 680,959 rooms are being developed or constructed in the Chinese hotel sector. Of these, 2,697 projects are already under construction, the highest number recorded in history.

The hotel industry experienced a rebound in demand for accommodation from January to March due to the reopening of borders and national holidays. As a result, the sector has increased the construction of new establishments.

During the first quarter of this year, China opened 78 hotels, providing 14,335 rooms. It is predicted that by the end of the year, 805 projects (115,356 rooms) will be opened, and by 2024, another 899 hotel projects (145,635 rooms) are expected to be launched.

Two hundred nineteen hotels (with 38,162 rooms) were started in the first quarter of the year, showing a 60% increase in the number of projects and a 49% increase in the number of rooms compared to the previous year.

The main franchise companies involved in Chinese hotel development are Hilton Worldwide, IHG, and Marriott International.

Parallel to the start of the works, announcements of new projects also grew substantially in the first quarter, reaching 278 hotels (42,362 rooms), with some directly entering the project’s construction phase.

There are currently a total of 365 projects (69,191 rooms) whose construction is scheduled to begin in the next twelve months, while the projects in the initial planning stage amount to 597 hotels (127,616 rooms).

Among Chinese cities, Chengdu and Shanghai have the most planned new establishments, with 138 and 116 projects, respectively. Guangzhou has 111 projects, Hangzhou has 98 establishments, and Xi’an has 98 planned hotels.

The leading franchise companies present in the ‘pipeline’ in China are Hilton Worldwide, with a record of 693 projects representing 124,796 rooms, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), with project numbers and number of rooms also at record levels, and with forecasts for opening 470 hotels (97,692 rooms).

For its part, Marriott International has 373 projects with 97,667 rooms to be developed. They are followed by Accor, with 223 projected establishments (38,175 rooms), and Jinjiang Holdings, with 199 projects corresponding to 20,190 rooms.