"The pipeline continues to soar," says Patrick Ford, presidentof the Portsmouth, NH-based industry research firm. He notes thatthis marks the 17th consecutive quarterly increase for hotelbuilding plans, dating back to 2004, and all of these projects havesecured sites as well as brand verification.

Newly announced rooms totaled a record 125,442 during the firstthree months of 2008, which Ford calls surprising considering arise in cancellations and with new hotels opening in that timeframe. He points out that the first quarter is usually the slowestof the year for construction starts, yet 51,864 were started thisyear, the highest total of all quarters recorded in the currentdecade.

"Developers remain bullish about the future," Ford said in thelatest Lodging Econometrics report issued late last month. "Forhotels under 200 rooms in the upscale, mid-market and economysectors, financing is still available, albeit at much moredifficult terms. At this time, regional banks and dedicatednational lodging real estate lenders continue to be lessconstrained by the lending crisis."