U.S. hotel supply has been nearly unchanged in the past year, and the development pipeline has actually shrunk 9% from a year earlier, according to Smith Travel Research (STR).
Few hotel projects outside of the luxury and upper-upscale sectors appear to be getting financing, STR said.
The pipeline for luxury and upper-upscale hotels widened 19% and 11%, respectively, while the pipeline for midscale and unaffiliated hotels narrowed by 8.4% and 19%, respectively, STR reported.
STR in January forecasted the luxury sector to have the largest increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) this year, though demand is expected to increase across the board.
2012 RevPAR in the luxury sector will rise 7.4%, and hotels in the upper-upscale, midscale, economy and independent sectors are each expected to achieve RevPAR advances of more than 3%.
Overall, U.S. RevPAR will increase 4.3% this year, predicts STR.
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