Lodging Econometrics has announced the publication of the first Lodging Development Pipeline
including a forecast for New Hotel Openings for ‘07, ‘08, ‘09
for every country in Europe.Patrick Ford, President of LE said, “There are 513 Construction
projects being actively pursued by developers having 93,669 rooms in the 40
countries throughout Europe. 59% of the total, or 302 projects having
52,580 rooms, are already Under Construction. Another 74 projects / 13,830
rooms are Scheduled to Start Construction in the Next 12 Months while 137
projects / 26,989 rooms are in various stages of Early Planning.”
  “After years of modest growth the region is benefiting from an
expanding global economy, unprecedented availability of investment capital,
a flourishing tourism industry and now appears to be firing on all
cylinders. Coupled with rising occupancies, accelerating room rates and a
shortage of guestrooms in many key markets, Europe is proving to have an
attractive investment climate which is sparking a development surge in the
lodging industry,” said Ford.
  “LE’s new European reports describe the development upswing. They
consist not only of individual project records, but also contain a forecast
of New Openings for ‘07, ‘08, ‘09 and beyond for: each country and market,
the leading developer groups and for every brand and company. It’s been a
massive task to compile such detailed information in the development
community and then re-verify it’s accuracy with brand management. We were
first encouraged to extend our research globally by our Wall St. clients
who found International operations to be a growing component of the U.S.
hotel companies and real estate investment groups that they track.
Preliminary indications are that LE’s research reports will prove to be
even more valuable to European based industry analysts, developers and
lodging companies as well,” said Ford.
  Of the 513 hotels in the Pipeline, 272 or 53% of the projects will be
full-service 4 and 5 star operations located mostly in city centers, close
to suburban locations, near airports or at destination resort locations.
281 of the projects are between 100-200 rooms, primarily select service
properties with limited food and beverage and meeting facilities.
  “Developers have already chosen a brand for 72% of the projects in the
Pipeline,” Ford said. “We expect approximately 10% more to make a branding
decision as projects migrate forward through the approval and financing
process. Having over 80% of all New Openings branded is striking testimony
to the power and importance of International brands in a growing globalized
economy.”
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