North America beefs up pipeline to prepare for World Cup
Pictured: rendering of Six Senses New York.
Hotel chains are bolstering their North American capacity in advance of the football World Cup 2026, which is being held in 16 cities across the continent.
According to the TOPHOTELPROJECTS database, the region’s pipeline of upscale and luxury hotels has risen by 5% over the last year, from 1,728 projects to at least 1,815 currently, representing 373,717 rooms.
Tournament proportions
The global football tournament will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026, with the two Canadian host cities being Toronto and Vancouver, while a Mexican trio encompasses Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. USA has the lion’s share of hosting duties, in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York/New Jersey.
Therefore New York tops the city project count in our database, with 48 upcoming high end hotels, while fellow host city Los Angeles takes runner-up spot with 45 properties. Outside World Cup fan provision, the tourist hubs of Nashville and Miami share third place with 32 developments apiece.
The country statistics reflect the World Cup hosting ratio too, with the USA massively topping the continent’s table at 1,482 projects, Mexico second with 121 developments and Canada in third with 73 hotels.
Next year apex
The peak opening year for North American projects is 2023, with 512 hotels scheduled, while 2024 sees a further 322 hotels launched. Plus an additional 226 properties will come online by the end of this year.
73%/1,322 of the high end projects we have in the database are in the upscale four star category, while the remaining 27%/493 entries are luxury five star hotels.
Hilton heights
Two Hilton Worldwide brands lead pack in North American hotel development, extended stay marque, Home2 Suites, with 49 prospective projects, while midscale Hampton by Hilton is second with a count of 44. The third highest total by brand goes to Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s upscale Hyatt Place.
One of the Hampton by Hilton developments is Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Santa Fe in Mexico. The 120-key property will feature a stylish lobby with a zoned environment providing facilities for working, mingling or relaxing. Guests will also have access to productive meeting space, an outdoor swimming pool and a fitness centre.
New York elevation
Another major upcoming hotel in the region, in one of the World Cup host cities of New York, is Six Senses New York at One High Line. Opening in Q4 2024, the distinctive twisted building was created by architect Bjarke Ingels, founder of design practice BIG. The hotel will take up 10 floors of the skyscraper, offering 137 guestrooms and suites.
Hotel guests, as well as residential owners and local club members, will have access to 45,000 sq ft of wellness space, complemented by a number of social spaces, including cafés, juice bars, a restaurant, and coworking and lounge areas. The club roof will double as an organic vegetable patch and social area with a dance floor.
Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.
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