Ontario Construction News staff writer
Canada’s hotel construction pipeline grew three per cent to 333 projects and 11 per cent to 44,764 rooms in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, according to Lodging Econometrics’ Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report.
Sixty-eight projects (9,038 rooms) are under construction, making up 20 per cent of the total pipeline, with Ontario, B.C., and Quebec accounting for 86 per cent of all hotel projects and 89 per cent of rooms, the second quarter report says.
Projects scheduled to begin in the next 12 months grew to 100 and 12,955 rooms—a 25 per cent year over year increase in projects and a 40 per cent jump in rooms. In early planning, 165 projects with 22,771 rooms are also in the works.
Top provinces by project count:
- Ontario: 197 projects | 27,776 rooms
- British Columbia: 68 projects | 9,607 rooms
- Quebec: 22 projects | 2,310 rooms
Among Canadian cities, Toronto tops the list with record high of 74 projects and 12,219 rooms—growing nine per cent in projects and 28 per cent in rooms. Vancouver showed the biggest YOY percentage gains, recording 33 projects (up 57 per cent) and 5,473 rooms (up 34 per cent). Meanwhile, Niagara Falls holds steady with 19 projects and 5,236 rooms.
The upper midscale segment leads Canada’s pipeline with 126 projects (13,203 rooms), followed by upscale with 66 projects (9,258 rooms)—up 14 per cent YOY in projects and 17 per cent in rooms. The midscale segment maintains its position with 39 projects (3,491 rooms).
Canada also saw:
- 124 renovation and brand conversion projects (a record high)
- 13 new project announcements
- Six construction starts in Q2
Looking ahead, the region is expected to open:
- 45 hotels in 2025 (5,315 rooms)
- 42 hotels in 2026 (5,375 rooms)
- 52 hotels in 2027 (5,744 rooms)
Across the globe the report says the total pipeline ascended to a record-high 15,871 projects with 2,436,225 rooms, up three per cent by projects and two per cent by rooms year-over-year.
Analysts say hotel construction is booming due to a combination of increased travel demand from recovering economies, significant investment in tourism infrastructure, developers capitalizing on the shift towards experiences-driven tourism and the need to upgrade existing properties.
There’s also a growth in new entrants and a favourable outlook, as seen in strong pipelines and project starts in key markets, even with high construction costs.