Canada’s hotel construction pipeline hits all-time high

By the end of second quarter of this year, the total hotel construction pipeline in Canada has hit an all-time high with 273 projects and 35,787 rooms, according to the latest report from Lodging Econometrics. Construction pipeline projects are up 14% and rooms are up 20% year on year.

Currently, the country has 92 hotels with 11,118 rooms under construction. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months currently are at 95 hotels and 11,097 rooms with projects in the early planning stage at 86 hotels with 13,572 rooms, both stages hitting record-high counts.

In first half of this year, Canada opened 28 new hotels with 3,213 rooms, and an additional 23 hotels with 2,579 rooms are scheduled to open before year’s end. In 2020, the Lodging Econometrics forecast for new hotel openings shows 64 hotels with 6,758 rooms.

In 2021, Canada is forecast to open 67 hotels with 7,428 rooms. Should all these projects come to fruition, 2021 will set an all-time high for new hotel openings.

The top provinces in Canada with the most projects in the pipeline are dominated by Ontario at a record-high 140 hotels with 17,778 rooms. Next is British Columbia, also at a record high, with 43 hotels and 5,877 rooms, followed by Alberta with 36 hotels and 5,667 rooms.

Together, the three provinces account for 82% of the rooms in Canada’s pipeline. Quebec and Manitoba follow much farther behind with 13 projects and 1,882 rooms and nine projects and 1,142 rooms, respectively.