South Central Region Hotel Development, Construction & Transactions

The South Central Region is anchored by a development pipeline weighted heavily toward upper midscale and upscale projects, with a notable cluster of upper upscale hotels also advancing through planning and construction. Lodging Development currently tracks 90 projects totaling 12,510 rooms across the region, alongside 61 recent openings and 58 transactions recorded over the past 18 months. Activity spans major metros from New Orleans and Birmingham to Louisville and Oklahoma City, reflecting broad investment interest across multiple states and property types.

Upper midscale projects represent the largest share of the South Central Region's tracked pipeline, with 33 projects accounting for 3,690 rooms, followed by 20 upscale projects totaling 2,497 rooms. Eleven upper upscale projects contribute a significant 3,490 rooms, anchored by the 1,000-room Omni New Orleans Convention Center, developed by TRT Holdings and currently in final planning. The region's sole luxury project is the 418-room JW Marriott Louisville 5/3 Tower, which remains in the planning stage.

Among the projects currently tracked by Lodging Development, the AC Hotel | Element Birmingham Downtown stands out as an active construction effort—Ascent Hospitality is developing the 338-room dual-branded property. The 207-room Home2 Suites | Tru by Hilton Newport is in final planning, reflecting continued demand for extended-stay and select-service product. In total, the 90 projects and 12,510 rooms tracked across the region include an additional 14 projects whose scale classification has yet to be determined.

Over the past 24 months, Lodging Development has recorded 61 hotel openings across the South Central Region totaling 7,876 rooms. The most prominent recent opening is the 466-room Fairmont | Element New Orleans Downtown, a luxury dual-branded property that opened in early February 2026. Birmingham has seen particularly strong activity, with the 201-room Hilton Garden Inn | Homewood Suites Hoover Birmingham debuting in late January 2026 and a 180-room Residence Inn | Courtyard Birmingham Grandview following in March. The 115-room Markham Hotel, an unaffiliated upper upscale property, opened in late April 2026, while the 142-room Compton Bentonville opened in December 2025.

During the 18-month period ending in late November 2025, Lodging Development tracked 58 hotel transactions across the South Central Region. Based on documented sale prices and loan data, Lodging Development estimates total transaction volume at approximately $556 million over this period. This figure incorporates actual sale prices where available for 23 transactions and values derived from recorded loan amounts for an additional 21 transactions, applying a loan-to-value ratio based on national hotel transaction data. Fourteen transactions lack sufficient pricing or loan information to include in the volume estimate, meaning actual total activity likely exceeds this figure.

Notable transactions during the window include the AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon/French Quarter, a 220-room upscale property that traded in October 2025, and the 88-room 21c Museum Hotel Lexington, a luxury asset that changed hands later that same month. The Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham/Lakeshore Drive also traded in November 2025.