Florida Hotel Development, Construction & Transactions

Florida remains one of the most active hotel development markets in the country, with Lodging Development currently tracking 272 projects totaling more than 39,400 rooms across the state. Transaction activity has been substantial, with 124 deals of $10 million or more recorded over a recent 18-month window, reflecting sustained investor confidence in the state's hospitality sector. Recent openings have added significant inventory across Florida's major metro areas, from Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale to Orlando and Jacksonville, underscoring the breadth of development interest spanning the full length of the peninsula.

Among the projects currently tracked by Lodging Development, the upscale tier leads the pipeline with 79 projects accounting for nearly 11,500 rooms, followed by upper midscale with 48 projects and upper upscale with 39. Luxury development, while a smaller segment at 16 projects, includes notable entries such as the 331-room JW Marriott East Naples, now in construction under Columbia Sussex Corp. The 502-room Westin Cocoa Beach Resort & Spa, developed by Driftwood Acquisitions and Development, is another major project currently under construction. In Orlando, InSite Group is planning a 506-room dual-branded Aloft and Element near Universal, while Phoenicia Development has a 391-room Universal Signature Suites project in early planning. An additional 57 projects totaling over 8,200 rooms are classified as undetermined scale, reflecting the early-stage nature of a sizable portion of Florida's hotel pipeline.

Over the past 24 months, 84 hotels totaling more than 13,500 rooms have opened across Florida. The most prominent recent addition is the 801-room Omni Fort Lauderdale, an upper upscale property that opened in late November 2025. In the luxury segment, the 220-room Four Seasons Resort at the Naples Beach Club debuted in October 2025. Miami Beach welcomed two upper upscale openings in April 2026: the 147-room UNFRAMED, Autograph Collection and the 90-room Dolce by Wyndham. Extended-stay and upper midscale brands have also expanded, with openings including the 147-room Home2 Suites Weston Ft. Lauderdale and the 122-room Hyatt Studios Jacksonville / St Johns Town Center.

In the 18-month period ending in late November 2025, Lodging Development tracked 124 hotel transactions of $10 million and above across Florida, with documented sale prices totaling approximately $4.42 billion across 84 of those deals. Among the notable trades, the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach sold for roughly $149 million in November 2025. Columbia Sussex Corporation acquired the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort for approximately $70.5 million in September 2025, while Highline Hospitality Partners purchased the 227-room Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park for $37.3 million that same month. Upper upscale resort properties figured prominently in the state's recent transaction activity, consistent with Florida's standing as one of the nation's top markets for institutional hotel investment.