Briefs: US construction down 61,000 rooms; By Mercure debuts in Estonia

US construction down 61,000 rooms: The number of hotel rooms under construction in the U.S. slipped to about 61,000 from the country’s all-time high in early 2020, as per December 2021 pipeline data by STR. Although activity in the planning stage has risen significantly, the final two phases of the pipeline, construction and final planning, also fell by double digits from the same time last year.

• In construction: 158,906 rooms (-19.2%)
• Final planning: 185,231 rooms (-20.6%)
• Planning: 284,502 rooms (+38.9%)

2021 was the second consecutive year with fewer rooms and final planning. However, the increase in planning activity could hints that the pandemic’s impact on the pipeline will be different than what happened during the Great Recession. As of January 5, 2022, there were more than 15,000 rooms under construction in New York City. Five more markets had…