The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 3,399 projects comprising 354,538 rooms, according to the March 2010 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 35.7-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to March 2009. The total active pipeline data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages, but does not include projects in the Pre-Planning stage.

“Most markets are experiencing a degree of decline in the number of rooms in construction; however, for some the change from last year is astounding,” said Duane Vinson, vice president at STR. “Orlando, Florida, for example, went from 5,900 rooms in construction last year to fewer than 1,300 this March. The Phoenix, Arizona, market moved from nearly 4,750 rooms to just over 800. Most profound though has to be Las Vegas, Nevada, where the number of rooms at this point last year stood at 10,600 and is currently fewer than 1,600.

“Fifteen of the Top 25 Markets have more than a 50-percent decline in year-over-year rooms in construction,” Vinson continued. “This compares with only five that have such a decline in the total number of rooms in the Active Pipeline.”

Among the Top 10 Markets by rooms in the In Construction phase, New York, New York, topped the list with 10,537 rooms, a 12.8-percent decrease from 2009. Three other markets reported more than 2,000 rooms in the In Construction phase: Houston, Texas (2,699 rooms); Washington, D.C. (2,471 rooms); and Dallas, Texas (2,012 rooms). In year-over-year measurements, Las Vegas ended the month with the largest decrease of rooms in the In Construction phase, falling 84.9 percent to 1,598 rooms, followed by Phoenix with an 82.9-percent decrease to 812 rooms.