Without a whole lot of fanfare, the U.S. hotel industry has been busy building new properties to meet the needs of 80 million baby boomer travelers who dream of significant travel in their retirement years.

According to the STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report, the U.S. hotel industry opened 407 new properties with 43,865 rooms in 2012, and is expected  to deliver 817 new properties with 87,301 rooms in 2013.

Further, nearly 50% of the expected new hotels are in the “upper midscale segment”, with another 30% falling in the “upscale segment”.

Says Bobby Bowers, senior VP of operations at STR, “Upscale and Upper Midscale segment rooms should lead all segments in new room openings, while Upper Upscale openings are expected to increase significantly.”

So, what does this mean to a baby boomer traveler?

Two things:

1. The U.S. hotel industry is betting that the travel industry has seen the last dark days of the recent travel recession.
2. Baby boomers are going to have lots of shiny new properties to visit as they roam around the U.S.

We all love new car smell, but new hotel smell has got to be way better.  Right?

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