The Pikes Peak region lodging industry has remained in good health amid one of the biggest hotel building booms in nearly 30 years — and that wave of construction shows no sign of slowing.

Developers completed 10 hotels or additions with more than 1,200 rooms over the past two years and six more projects with nearly 900 rooms are under construction, according to data compiled by Emmy Hise, a Denver-based hotel industry analyst for CoStar Group, a Washington, D.C., real estate data company.

Though hotel construction is taking place statewide, Colorado Springs is leading that trend because of the area’s appeal as a destination for hiking, bicycling and other outdoor activities, she said.

Many of the hotel projects are clustering in busy areas of the city, where businesses, employers and visitors generate strong demand, said John Kelley, senior vice president of hospitality, gaming and leisure for commercial real estate consulting firm Newmark Valuation & Advisory in Denver.

Those areas include northern El Paso County, especially near the InterQuest Parkway commercial corridor; the Colorado Springs Airport and Peterson Space Force Base on the southwest side; and in or near downtown.

“Though Colorado Springs is experiencing strong growth in hotel construction and proposals overall, recent major investment is being concentrated in key submarkets,” Kelley said.

“These submarkets have attracted considerable development due to reliable, year-round demand. The appeal of Colorado Springs is further strengthened by its proximity to renowned outdoor sites such as Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak and various national and state parks.”

The six projects under construction might not be the end of the boom.

Developers plan another 16 hotels over the next several years that could total more than 2,000 rooms, according to lists maintained by Newmark and Visit Colorado Springs, the agency that markets tourism in the Pikes Peak region. Rising construction and financing costs, though, have made hotel development more difficult and prompted developers to slow or cancel several projects in the past two years.

All told, 32 projects completed, under construction or on the drawing board would add more than 4,100 hotel rooms, which would expand the area’s supply by about 15% to 20%.

Industry experts, however, aren’t worried that too many hotel rooms will flood the market, in large part because local tourism has grown dramatically since the last construction boom 25 years ago.

Southwest Airlines’ arrival in the Springs in 2021 helped boost tourism; the low-fare giant immediately became the largest carrier at the city airport and has since expanded.

The north-side 8,000-seat Sunset Amphitheater outdoor music venue that debuts in August and a new Air Force Academy visitor’s center under construction and scheduled to open in 2025 and are being counted on to entice more visitors to the region, Hise said.

Also, some of the new hotels will offset the loss of about 700 rooms that have been converted into apartments. One example: the former 496-room south side Hotel Elegante Conference & Event Center has been transformed into Alta Living.

The 375-room, nine-story Hotel Polaris that’s expected to open late this year outside the Air Force Academy’s north gate is arguably the area’s highest profile new lodging property.

It will be the first full-service hotel built in the region in nearly 40 years and will be the area’s second largest (after The Broadmoor) when it opens. The hotel is part of the 51-acre True North Commons development that includes the academy’s new visitor’s center, an office park and land for retail and restaurants.

Hise has included the Hotel Polaris as one of 10 “hotels to watch” in the western U.S. in a recent report because it is the largest hotel under construction in Colorado and will include flight simulators in its lobby — a unique amenity.

Price called Hotel Polaris a “game changer for both Colorado Springs and the Air Force Academy, especially in the summer of 2025. The hotel is in a perfect location for those doing and attending shows at Sunset” Amphitheater.