Hilton Hotels Projected to Grow On into 2007

Hilton Hotels led the U.S. hotel industry in new room additions, construction and brand conversions in 2005 and is projected to maintain that position at least through 2007, according to data from Lodging Econometrics.

According to Lodging Econometrics (LE), a hotel real estate investment research firm, the Hilton Family of Hotels is expected to add approximately 170 hotels and 24,000 gross rooms to its system in 2005, up from 122 projects with 15,227 rooms in 2004, the year that Hilton became the hotel industry leader in number of new rooms added.

Through the first three quarters of 2005, the Hilton Family opened or re-flagged 127 hotels, adding 17,731 rooms.

Hilton anticipates a 6.3 percent addition to its U.S. room supply in 2005, up from 4.4 percent in 2004. In 2006, the company expects to add 175 to 200 hotels and 23,000 to 27,000 rooms to its system.

Hilton reported 560 hotels and 75,000 rooms in its development pipeline –the largest it has ever been- as of September 30, 2005.

LE has reported that few new hotel projects have entered the construction pipeline in the central business districts of major cities, which is typical in the early phase of a hotel industry rebound. As a result, most new construction is occurring in the focused-service sectors.