The lodging industry construction pipeline remains robust, despite the troubles in the credit markets and general economic conditions. According to Lodging Econometrics, at the end of the third quarter, 5,652 properties with 740,272 rooms were in some stage of development. While there is no way to tell for sure, some — perhaps many — of the projects in early stages of development will never get built due to lack of financing and downturn in demand.

Of those projects in the pipeline, the biggest share, 2,167 hotels or 39 percent of the total, are in the midscale without food and beverage segment. Next highest, with 1,246 projects and 22 percent of the total, are in the upscale segment. Twenty-one percent of pipeline hotels are currently listed as independent or unbranded. Most of those will probably take a brand before opening.