Approximately 136,500 rooms began construction last year, a year-over-year increase of 64.2% that represents the greatest increase since 1994, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) research supplemented by Torto Wheaton Research.
”The room starts increase of 2006 reflects positive industry fundamentals including the largest revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth since 1981 of 8.5% in 2005 and a robust growth of 7.7% in 2006,” according to the research results.
PwC forecasts a 5.6% RevPAR growth in 2007 as supply growth slightly exceeds demand growth and average daily rate (ADR) growth slows.
PwC forecasts supply growth of 1.6% in 2007 and 2.3% in 2008, the highest two year levels since 2001.
Report by David Wilkening
