Middle East Hotel Construction Pipeline Reaches New All-Time High for Projects

According to the Q3 2025 Middle East Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the region’s hotel construction pipeline reached a new all-time project high, standing at 659 projects/163,816 rooms at the close of the quarter. The total pipeline increased 8% by projects and 9% by rooms year-over-year (YOY), showing steady growth for the region’s hospitality sector.

The region’s construction pipeline shows strong activity with 32 new project announcements totaling 7,184 rooms during Q3 2025, a 7% increase by projects YOY. Projects under construction in the Middle East at the Q3 close stand at 332 projects/86,958 rooms, reflecting a YOY increase of 12% by projects and 9% by rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are at 161 projects/48,251 rooms, up 15% by projects and 33% by rooms YOY. Projects in the early planning stage total 166 projects/28,607 rooms.

Breaking down the pipeline by chain scale, the luxury chain scale claims the greatest number of projects in the Middle East’s pipeline, reaching a new all-time high of 199 projects/44,059 rooms, up 10% by projects and 6% by rooms YOY. The upscale chain scale follows, standing at 166 projects/47,974 rooms, increasing 7% by projects and 13% by rooms YOY. These top two chain scales by project count combined total 365 projects/92,033 rooms, representing 55% of the region’s total pipeline projects and increasing 17% by projects and 19% by rooms YOY. Additionally, the upper upscale chain scale also reached a new all-time high with 153 projects/38,478 rooms, up 9% by projects and 10% by rooms YOY.

Combined hotel renovations and brand conversions reached a new all-time high of 79 projects/20,258 rooms, increasing 46% by projects and 67% by rooms YOY.

Countries in the Middle East with the greatest number of projects in the construction pipeline at the Q3 close are led by Saudi Arabia, which reached a new all-time high with 349 projects/94,287 rooms, up 10% by projects and 18% by rooms YOY. Egypt follows with a new all-time high project count of 131 projects/28,657 rooms, increasing 20% by projects and 9% by rooms YOY. The United Arab Emirates stands at 103 projects/26,061 rooms, up 20% by projects and 10% by rooms YOY. The top three countries by project count combined account for 583 projects/149,005 rooms, representing 88% of the region’s total pipeline projects.

Cities with the largest hotel construction pipelines are led by Riyadh with 90 projects/18,403 rooms, followed by Jeddah, which reached a new all-time high of 59 projects/13,341 rooms. Dubai follows with 56 projects/13,902 rooms, up 22% by projects and 7% by rooms YOY. Cairo stands at 50 projects/10,955 rooms, increasing 25% by projects and 23% by rooms YOY, then Makkah with 28 projects/18,173 rooms, up 40% by projects and 32% by rooms YOY.

Through the third quarter of 2025, the Middle East opened 20 new hotels accounting for 4,822 rooms. LE forecasts 45 additional new hotels with 9,531 rooms to open in Q4 2025, bringing the total for the year to 65 new hotels and 14,353 rooms. Looking ahead, LE’s projections point to continued growth, with 96 new hotels and 20,169 rooms forecast to open in 2026, followed by 91 new hotels and 22,792 rooms expected to open in 2027.

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