The U.S. hotel development pipeline remained robust through the third quarter of this year, with a total of 5,926 hotels on the boards-an increase of 12.8 percent over a year earlier-according to the latest Smith Travel Research/Torto Wheaton Research/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report. However, STR spokesman Duane Vinson said while positive demand spurred a flurry of development into 2008, that is beginning to slow. "With room demand softening in the last half of 2008, we are beginning to see higher-than-historical-average attrition in the planning and even final planning phases," Vinson said. "With few exceptions, hotel construction in the Top 26 markets is slowing in comparison to last year."
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