Hotel expansion in Europe in 2024

20-05-24

Despite the economic slowdown, major global hotel chains continue with their ambitious construction projects in Europe. According to Lodging Econometrics' (LE) European Hotel Construction Project Trends Report, a notable increase in high-end hotel openings is expected.

By 2024, 326 new hotels are expected to open in Europe, totaling around 45,100 rooms. The pipeline of hotel projects under construction has registered a slight increase compared to the previous year, with a total of 1,705 projects and 253,777 rooms at the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Currently, 45% of hotel projects in Europe are under construction, representing 762 projects and 117,815 rooms. In addition, 411 projects, totaling 60,356 rooms, are expected to start construction in the next 12 months. Another 532 projects, with 75,606 rooms, are in the early planning stage, slightly below the record first quarter of 2023.

The luxury hotel segment has shown the strongest growth compared to the previous year. In the first quarter of 2024, a record was reached with 271 projects and 45,122 rooms in this category. Luxury chains have another 358 projects in the pipeline, which will add 57,153 rooms. Upper-middle-end hotels are also expanding, with 305 projects and 46,020 rooms planned.

During the first quarter of 2024, 45 new hotels with 5,961 rooms opened across Europe. For the remainder of the year, 281 new hotels with 39,129 rooms are planned to open, reaching a total of 326 new hotels and 45,090 rooms by the end of 2024. Projections for 2025 point to 367 new openings, totaling 52,605 rooms.

Five countries account for half of the projects in the pipeline: the United Kingdom leads with 321 projects (45,257 rooms), followed by Germany (180 projects/28,816 rooms), France (130 projects/14,268 rooms), Portugal (120 projects/15,020 rooms) and Turkey (116 projects/18,277 rooms). These countries represent 51% of the projects and 48% of the rooms in the entire region.

The European cities with the largest number of projects underway are London, with 80 projects and 14,987 rooms; Istanbul, with 51 projects and 8,814 rooms; Lisbon, with 37 projects and 4,349 rooms; Dublin, with 27 projects and 5,254 rooms; and Dusseldorf, with 26 projects and 4,798 rooms.