Ontario Construction News staff writer
Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) report that at the close of the first quarter of 2020, the total construction pipeline in Canada remains strong with 304 projects and an all-time high of 40,291 rooms. The construction pipeline is up an impressive 15 per cent by projects and 22 per cent by rooms, year-over-year.
A driving force of the pipeline’s double-digit growth is the surge in projects in the early planning stage at an all-time high of 103 projects/15,964 rooms, up 29 per cent and 41 per cent year-over-year. Projects under construction, also at record highs, are at 101 projects/12,563 rooms, up 9% by projects and 20 per cent by rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 100 projects/11,764 rooms and are up 10 per cent by projects and 5 per cent by rooms, over last year.
The top province in Canada with the most projects in the pipeline is Ontario with 154 projects/20,447 rooms. This is a record-high for the province and accounts for 51 per cent of the projects in Canada’s total pipeline. Next is British Columbia with 50 projects/6,730 rooms and Alberta with 31 projects/4,810 rooms. Together the three provinces account for 79 per cent of the rooms in Canada’s Pipeline.
The top five cities are led by Toronto with 61 projects/8,468 rooms – a record high and 21 per cent of all the projects in Canada’s total construction pipeline. Following distantly is Montreal, also at record counts, with 18 projects/2,406 rooms, Niagara Falls with 14 projects/3,781 rooms, Vancouver with 14 projects/1,849 rooms, and Ottawa with 10 projects/1,761 rooms. These five cities combined account for 45 per cent of the rooms in the total pipeline.
The top franchise companies in Canada’s construction pipeline are Marriott International with 67 projects/8,430 rooms and Hilton Worldwide with 65 projects/7,738 rooms. Both franchise company pipelines are at all-time highs in Canada. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) follows with 56 projects/5,402 rooms. These three franchise companies claim 62 per cent of the projects in the total pipeline.
The top brands in Canada’s pipeline are IHG’s Holiday Inn Express with 34 projects/3,385 rooms, and Hampton by Hilton with 30 projects/3,369 rooms. TownePlace Suites by Marriott follows with 16 projects/1,726 rooms and is at an all-time high.
Marriott, at a record high, with 13 projects/2,020 rooms, and Home2 Suites by Hilton with 12 projects/1,270 rooms, also reaching an all-time high.