South Central Region Hotel Development, Construction & Transactions

Spanning seven states — Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia — the South Central Region carries a hotel development pipeline shaped primarily by upper midscale and upscale projects, with several high-profile upper upscale and luxury entries adding scale. Lodging Development currently tracks 86 projects totaling 11,647 rooms across the region. Transaction activity has been steady, with 61 hotel sales recorded over the most recent 18-month window. Recent openings have delivered 7,632 rooms across 59 properties, reflecting sustained investor and brand interest across these states.

Upper midscale projects account for the largest share of the South Central pipeline, with 33 of the 86 projects currently tracked by Lodging Development falling in that tier, followed by 18 upscale projects. Among the most notable individual developments is the 1,000-room Omni New Orleans Convention Center, an upper upscale project being developed by TRT Holdings and currently in final planning. In Louisville, the JW Marriott Louisville 5/3 Tower — the region's sole luxury project — would bring 418 rooms and is in the planning stage. Active construction includes the 338-room AC Hotel and Element dual-branded project in downtown Birmingham, developed by Ascent Hospitality. A dual-branded Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton in Newport, totaling 207 rooms, is also in final planning. Nine upper upscale projects collectively account for 2,885 rooms, while nine midscale and three economy projects round out the pipeline at the lower tiers.

Across the South Central Region, 59 hotels totaling 7,632 rooms have opened over the past 24 months. The most significant recent opening is the 466-room Fairmont and Element dual-branded property in downtown New Orleans, which opened in early February 2026 and represents a luxury addition to Louisiana's largest city. Birmingham has seen considerable activity, with the 201-room Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites in Hoover opening in late January 2026, followed by the 180-room Residence Inn and Courtyard Birmingham Grandview in March. In Arkansas, The Compton Bentonville, a 142-room upper upscale property, opened in early December 2025, while The Markham Hotel, a 115-room upper upscale hotel, opened in late April 2026.

Over the 18-month period ending in December 2025, Lodging Development tracked 61 hotel transactions across Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Based on documented sale prices and loan data, Lodging Development estimates total transaction volume in the South Central Region at approximately $672 million over this period. This figure incorporates actual sale prices where available for 24 transactions and values derived from recorded loan amounts for an additional 20 transactions, applying an 80% loan-to-value ratio based on national hotel transaction data. The remaining 17 transactions lack sufficient data to include in the volume estimate, meaning actual regional volume is likely higher. Among notable recent sales, the 338-room Perdido Beach Resort, an upper upscale property in Alabama, traded in December 2025 to Aurora Hospitality Partners. Other late-2025 transactions include the Courtyard Monroe Airport in Louisiana and the Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham/Lakeshore Drive.