North Carolina Hotel Development, Construction & Transactions

North Carolina's hotel development pipeline reflects broad activity across scale tiers, anchored by a strong concentration of upscale and upper midscale projects. Lodging Development currently tracks 82 hotel projects totaling 10,787 rooms in various stages of planning and construction statewide. Transaction activity has been steady, with 39 deals of $10 million and above recorded over the most recent 18-month tracking window. On the openings front, 34 hotels comprising 4,307 rooms have debuted across the state over the past 24 months, reinforcing North Carolina's continued appeal to hotel investors, developers, and brand operators.

Among the projects currently tracked by Lodging Development, the 600-room Omni Hotel Raleigh Convention Center stands out as the largest in the state by a significant margin. Developed by Omni Hotels & Resorts, the upper upscale property is currently in construction. Also under construction is the 249-room dual-branded Courtyard and Residence Inn Cary at the Arboretum, developed by Daly Seven, alongside the 138-room TownePlace Suites Raleigh Downtown from Summit Hospitality Group. In the planning stage, the 264-room City Gateway Hotel & Parking Facility is being advanced by Capital City Urban Development.

The pipeline is led by upscale projects, which account for 32 of the 82 developments tracked, followed by 23 upper midscale projects and 11 upper upscale entries. Together, these three tiers represent the vast majority of the state's active hotel construction activity, totaling more than 9,300 rooms.

North Carolina has welcomed 34 new hotels totaling 4,307 rooms over the past 24 months. Among the most recent openings, The Balladeer Hotel, a Tribute Portfolio property, debuted in early May 2026 with 70 upper upscale rooms. The 124-room StudioRes Leland also opened in May 2026, while the 118-room Courtyard Sugar Mountain Banner Elk opened in late April 2026. Earlier in the year, the Compass by Margaritaville Beaufort added 105 upscale rooms in late February 2026. Larger dual-branded properties have also come online, including the 184-room Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton Concord Charlotte, which opened in late 2025.

Over the past 18 months ending in late 2025, Lodging Development recorded 39 hotel transactions of $10 million and above across North Carolina, reflecting consistent investor interest statewide. Among those deals with disclosed pricing, 18 transactions totaled approximately $354.2 million in documented sale volume. Notable individual transactions include Milan Hotel Group's acquisition of both the 78-room Courtyard Asheville and the 88-room SpringHill Suites Asheville in November 2025, purchased for $5.9 million and $6.9 million respectively. The 152-room Sonesta Select Raleigh Durham Airport Morrisville traded in September 2025 for $7.5 million. These figures represent transactions meeting the $10 million volume threshold; additional deals below that level are not included in the aggregate totals.