Europe has seen a “steady increase” in the opening of hotels in 2022 with the continent set to see just under 450 new properties making their debuts this year.
Figures from hotel data specialist Lodging Econometrics found that 188 properties opened across Europe in the first six months of the year, adding a total of 28,350 rooms. This will be followed by 259 new hotels in the second half of this year, bringing with them around 36,500 rooms.
Lodging Econometrics also forecasts that a total of 840 hotels with a combined 126,000 rooms will open in Europe across 2023 and 2024.
“Following nearly two years of project and timeline delays, continued pandemic management and containment, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, labour shortages and high inflation, Europe’s hotel construction pipeline is slowly improving,” said the company in its hotel pipeline report.
“During the first and second quarters, many countries throughout the region reopened borders to international travel and have seen increasing numbers of leisure and business travellers.
“While the region still faces many challenges on its way to full recovery, this pent-up demand for travel has and will continue to play a major role.”
The overall European development pipeline for new hotels is led by the UK with 309 projects, followed by Germany (258 hotels), France (152), Portugal (123) and Poland (85).
The city with the most hotel projects in Europe is London where 80 new properties would add nearly 14,000 rooms. Dusseldorf is in second place with 46 developments, followed by Paris (35), Lisbon (34) and Istanbul (32).
The major hotel brands due to see the most openings in Europe over the next few years include Accor’s Ibis, which has 92 projects on its books, as well as Hampton by Hilton (69 properties), Holiday Inn Express (60) and Marriott’s Moxy (51).