Carolinas Hotel Development, Construction & Transactions

Hotel development across North Carolina and South Carolina reflects steady investment spanning a range of project scales, from large convention-oriented properties to select-service builds in secondary markets. Lodging Development currently tracks 112 projects totaling 14,648 rooms in the pipeline across both states, alongside 57 transactions recorded over the most recent 18-month window. Recent opening activity has been consistent as well, with 45 hotels delivering nearly 5,700 rooms over the past 24 months.

The Carolinas development pipeline is concentrated in the upscale and upper midscale tiers, which together account for 66 of the 112 projects tracked by Lodging Development. Upper upscale projects add another 20 to the pipeline, contributing 3,705 rooms. Among the projects currently tracked, the 600-room Omni Hotel Raleigh Convention Center stands out as the largest, currently in construction with Omni Hotels & Resorts as the developer. In Myrtle Beach, Drury Hotels Company has a 400-room Drury Plaza Hotel in the planning stage. The Courtyard and Residence Inn dual-branded project in Cary, developed by Daly Seven, adds 249 upscale rooms and is also under construction. The Capital City Urban Development–led City Gateway Hotel & Parking Facility contributes 264 rooms at a scale yet to be determined. Luxury-tier projects remain limited, with just two properties totaling 239 rooms.

Over the past 24 months, 45 hotels totaling 5,679 rooms have opened across North Carolina and South Carolina. Among the most recent, The Cooper Hotel opened in late March 2026 with 191 upper upscale rooms, while The Balladeer Hotel, a Tribute Portfolio property, debuted in early May 2026 with 70 rooms. The 118-room Courtyard Sugar Mountain Banner Elk opened in late April 2026, and Compass by Margaritaville Beaufort added 105 upscale rooms in late February. Earlier openings include the 128-room SpringHill Suites High Point in November 2025 and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites New Bern, which opened in early January 2026.

Lodging Development tracked 57 hotel transactions of $10 million and above across the Carolinas over the 18-month period ending in December 2025. Among transactions with disclosed pricing, 29 sales totaled approximately $907.5 million, underscoring substantial investor interest in both North Carolina and South Carolina. In one notable deal, T2 Hospitality acquired the 135-room Courtyard Greenville Downtown in October 2025 for $43.6 million. Milan Hotel Group was active in the Asheville market that same month, purchasing both the 78-room Courtyard Asheville and the 88-room SpringHill Suites Asheville. An additional 23 transactions lacked disclosed sale prices but involved recorded loan data, and five transactions had no publicly available pricing or loan information.