New projects & record early planning project counts fuel Canada’s hotel construction pipeline

Canada’s total construction pipeline increased 10 per cent by projects and 5 per cent by rooms year-over-year (YOY).

Accelerated by the return of travel demand, new project announcements (NPAs) in Canada saw significant growth in the first quarter. NPAs surpassed totals for each of the previous five quarters, to stand at 27 projects/3,806 rooms at the Q1 close. As a result of the growing number of NPAs in Q1, projects in the early planning stage hit a peak for the country with 145 projects/20,583 rooms, up 38 per cent and 36 per cent YOY, respectively.

Other pipeline metrics at the Q1 close include projects that are under construction, which stand at 47 projects/5,802 rooms, while projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 91 projects/11,298 rooms. Additionally, combined renovation and brand conversion projects in Canada reached a record-high total this quarter with 105 projects/11,598 rooms.

Ontario continues to lead Canada’s construction pipeline with record-high project and room counts of 162 projects/21,945 rooms and accounts for 57 per cent of the projects and 58 per cent of the rooms in Canada’s total pipeline. British Columbia follows, also reaching record-high totals at Q1, with 55 projects/8,670 rooms, followed by Quebec with 21 projects/2,555 rooms.

The top cities in Canada, with the most projects in the pipeline at Q1, are Toronto, with 61 projects/8,763 rooms. Following distantly is Vancouver, then Niagara Falls, both reaching record-high project and room totals at the Q1 close, with 23 projects/3,634 rooms and 16 projects/5,088 rooms, respectively.

Three franchise companies dominate Canada’s construction pipeline at the close of the first quarter, accounting for 65 per cent of the projects and 60 per cent of the rooms in the country’s total pipeline. These companies are led by Marriott International with 78 projects and 10,305 rooms, followed by Hilton Worldwide with 64 projects/7,850 rooms, and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 43 projects/4,347 rooms.

The top franchise brands in Canada’s pipeline are Hilton’s Hampton by Hilton brands with 24 projects/2,795 rooms, IHG’s Holiday Inn Express with 20 projects/2,159 rooms, and TownePlace Suites by Marriott with a record 20 projects/2,017 rooms.

Other notable brands in Canada’s pipeline are Marriott’s Fairfield Inn with record project and room totals at Q1 of 19 projects/1,805 rooms, Tru by Hilton with 14 projects/1,350 rooms, also at record-highs, and Hyatt Place with 11 projects/1,582 rooms.

LE’s forecast for new hotel openings in Canada calls for a total of 31 new hotel projects with 3,744 rooms to open in 2023, marking a 1.0 per cent new supply growth rate increase compared to 2022 totals. In 2024, LE analysts expect a 1.1 per cent increase in room supply with 68 new hotel projects/4,048 rooms forecast to open by year-end.