MANILA — Nearly three in 10 hotel rooms that had been projected two years ago to open in the Philippines by 2026 were canceled, even as the country's accommodation pipeline has since grown to P387 billion through 2032.

Of the 20,509 room keys — industry shorthand for individual hotel rooms — identified in the 2024 Philippine Accommodation Pipeline Report for delivery by 2026, 29% were canceled, while just under 6,000 were completed on schedule, according to the latest edition of the report by the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) and Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC).

The remaining projects had either opened or were still expected to proceed after delays, with some timelines pushed back by one to two years, the report said. Taken together, roughly as many rooms were scrapped as were completed on time, illustrating how far announced supply can shift before it becomes finished inventory.

PHOA and LPC attributed the cancellations to financing failures, changes in project feasibility, and missed residential presale benchmarks. The report also noted that material prices had risen by roughly 30%, forcing some projects back into cost engineering, while financing approvals took longer to complete.

The findings come as the national pipeline has expanded to 45,884 room keys across 213 projects scheduled between 2026 and 2032, backed by P387 billion in committed private capital. Compared with the 2024 report, committed capital rose 55% from P250 billion, the number of tracked projects climbed 35% from 158, and planned room capacity increased 14% from 40,084 keys.

The report cautioned, however, that not all projects in the latest pipeline would necessarily be completed, particularly those that have yet to break ground.

"Not all of them will be built," the report said, adding that forward supply figures are "statements of intent" and should be discounted accordingly. For the current pipeline, that framing points to groundbreaking and construction starts — rather than headline room counts — as the markers to watch as the 2026–2032 delivery window progresses.

According to PHOA and LPC, the number of accommodation projects is also growing faster than planned room capacity, reflecting smaller average project sizes spread across a wider range of destinations.

In Luzon, 75% of pipeline room keys fall within the Luzon Economic Corridor, while 90% of the Visayas pipeline sits in destinations served by international gateways. In Mindanao, the number of tracked properties rose 31%, from 16 two years ago to 21, even as average property sizes declined. Cagayan de Oro has overtaken Davao as the region's largest hotel pipeline, with 1,293 planned room keys compared with Davao's 655.

Baguio City's pipeline, meanwhile, increased 78% over two years to 1,454 room keys across 11 properties, placing it among the country's 10 largest accommodation pipelines by destination.

Nationally, 70% of pipeline room keys are located in destinations served by direct international flights, concentrating future capacity at the gateways where international travelers arrive. Central Visayas leads the national pipeline by room count, with developments concentrated in Mactan, Cebu City, and Panglao.

"Developers have committed P387 billion across 213 projects, and they have done it in the face of rising costs and a difficult financing environment," LPC Director for Hotels, Tourism, and Leisure Alfred Lay said.

The report was based on survey responses from more than 50 developers and hotel operators, more than 80 site inspections, and interviews with government and industry stakeholders. Its data are current as of August 2026.

The findings were originally reported by BusinessWorld's J.C.A. Gonzales.