Hotel development nosedived in California in 2024, fresh evidence the statewide lodging market may still be affected by economic conditions following a global pandemic, a new report shows.

However, that isn’t true in Woodland, which has seen the opening and construction of new hotels over the past several years.

The Atlas Hospitality Group disclosed in a report this month that the decline involved three types of hotel projects: those being planned, those under construction, and new openings.

In 2024, developers completed and opened just three hotels in the Bay Area, according to the Hospitality Group, a plunge of 75% from the 12 hotels that opened in 2023.

The hotels that opened in 2024 in the Bay Area had a combined total of 348 rooms. That was down 78.4% from the 1,615 hotel rooms that were opened in the nine-county region in 2023.

Northern California, meanwhile, added 18 new hotels with 1,849 hotel rooms in 2024. That number was down 28% from the 25 hotels that opened in the region in 2023.

Overall, California added 3,798 hotel rooms in 2024, down 39.5% from the 6,280 added statewide in 2023.

Meanwhile, in Woodland, three new hotels are under construction or were just completed, including Home2Suites, which has 85 rooms; as well as Courtyard and Staybridge, which have 109 rooms each.

Those hotels join Comfort Suites, Days Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, as well as Fairfield Inn & Suites.

All of the new buildings are located on or near East Main Street, east of the Hwy. 113 junction.

While the exact number isn’t available, it’s believed the number of hotel rooms in Woodland is more than 1,032.

Those new structures will mean more revenue for Woodland, because they pay an assessment that goes toward tourism promotion through VisitWoodland.

The Woodland Hoteliers Group includes America’s Best Value, Best Western Shadow Inn, Budget Inn, Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Econolodge, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Motel 6, Quality Inn & Suites, Valley Oaks and more.

The reason for the new hotels locally is believed to be that Woodland is seen as an “ag town,” according to individuals involved in the hoteliers group, and a gateway to agricultural companies across Northern California.

Woodland has been promoting the “Food Front” for years, which combines a number of agricultural companies able to offer a variety of goods and services.

Woodland’s location on and near interstate 505, 80 and 5 as well as Hwy. 113 are believed to be other contributing factors, along with being only minutes from the Sacramento International Airport.

The trick will be to keep all those rooms filled and that may be difficult unless there are other significant draws including gatherings of groups such as the Western Growers Association, the Honey Bee Festival, and Dinner on Main.

Those business interests visiting Woodland see “the value; and the city sees the value of what Woodland has to offer,” according to the Hoteliers Group spokesman. “Woodland is on the right path in doing these ag-related events.”

Elsewhere, the drop in hotel building is believed related to the increased cost of construction, rising interest rates, that has seen many lenders pulling away from new construction.

Atlas Hospitality Group stated in its report, that the largest hotel that opened in California in 2024 was the 197-room Chicken Ranch Casino Resort in the Tuolumne County city of Jamestown.

The hotel market in San Francisco was particularly frail, the report disclosed.

“San Francisco County still had no new hotels open in 2023 or 2024, largely due to the overall hospitality and local market conditions,” Atlas Hospitality reported.

Only one hotel was under construction during 2024 in San Francisco: a 169-room Waldorf Astoria.