NYC, Phoenix to Lead 2026 US Hotel Boom with Over 8000 Rooms

According to pipeline data by CoStar, New York City and Phoenix are set to open the highest number of new hotel rooms in the US in 2026. This signals a renewed growth phase for the national hospitality market following the post-pandemic recovery period.

New York City is projected to add approximately 4,852 hotel rooms over the year, while Phoenix is expected to open around 3,650 rooms. These figures place both cities ahead of other major US markets, such as Dallas, Orlando, and Miami.

Growing confidence in travel demand

The strong pipeline highlights increasing confidence among developers and investors as travel demand continues to stabilize and grow. After a period of slowdown during the early pandemic years, hotel construction and openings are once again gaining pace across key urban and leisure destinations.

According to CoStar, 2025 marked a clear turning point. During that year, 749 hotels opened across the US, adding a total of 79,116 rooms to the national hotel inventory.

Looking ahead, the outlook for 2026 points to an even stronger year for development activity. CoStar projects that 891 hotels will open nationwide, contributing nearly 100,000 new rooms to the market.

Recent investment activity reinforces market recovery

The broader US hospitality market showed clear signs of recovery in 2025, supported by high-profile investment transactions.

In December 2025, Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms, acquired the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco for $130 million. This marked Blackstone’s first hotel investment in the city in nearly ten years and signaled renewed confidence in San Francisco’s hospitality outlook.

Later in December, Gencom, a Miami-based real estate investment and hospitality firm, reacquired a majority ownership stake in The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida. This move further underscored strong confidence in Miami’s sustained demand from both leisure and business travelers.

Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash