The Caribbean/Mexico hotel development pipeline includes 141 hotels with 18,535 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR Construction Pipeline Report released this week.
'At the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference held earlier this year in Bermuda, the general sentiment was that development would dwindle to a virtual trickle in the Caribbean in 2009 and 2010,' said Duane Vinson, vice president at STR. 'It appears that earlier projections are now a reality. With fewer than 50 projects in the active pipeline, new projects have come to a stand still.'
Among the countries in the region, Mexico reported the largest amount of rooms in the In Construction phase (5,289), as well as in the total active pipeline (10,810). Puerto Rico followed with 1,163 rooms in the In Construction phase and 1,627 rooms in the total active pipeline. The Bahamas also ended the month with more than 1,000 rooms in the total active pipeline with 1,439.
Among the Chain-Scale segments, the Upper Upscale segment made up the largest percentage of the total active pipeline with 23.3 percent of the rooms (4,313 rooms). The Midscale without Food and Beverage segment accounted for 20.7 percent of the total active pipeline with 3,836 rooms. The Midscale with Food and Beverage (8.6 percent with 1,602 rooms) and the Economy segments (6.1 percent with 1,125 rooms) made up the smallest portions of the total active pipeline.
Caribbean and Mexico pipeline by Chain-Scale segment for August 2009 (number of rooms):
* Includes those projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning phases
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