More than 200 hotel and resort projects are moving through the Caribbean development pipeline, and nearly 60% of them carry a luxury or upper-upscale flag. That's the headline from HVS's preview of the region's lodging supply, ahead of the CHICOS conference in November 2026.

Four markets are driving the cycle: the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Barbados. The Dominican Republic alone holds almost half of the region's projects — 48.6% — concentrated in Punta Cana, the emerging Miches corridor, Pedernales, and Puerto Plata. Its share of keys runs even higher at 53.1% of the pipeline.

What's actually being built?

The Bahamas is stacking luxury entries: Montage Cay, Bvlgari, Amancaya, and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Cotton Bay. Baha Mar is adding a fourth resort along with residences.

Puerto Rico just got a major boost with approval of Esencia, a $2-billion development that will reportedly feature Mandarin Oriental and Rosewood products with residences.

Several brands are arriving in the Caribbean for the first time:

• Mandarin Oriental — completing its first Caribbean new-build in Grand Cayman
• Pendry — first Caribbean entry, in Barbados
• Equinox — Caribbean debut in Anguilla, with a 118-berth marina for yachts and superyachts
• Aman and Rosewood — expanding their regional presence

Why residences are doing the heavy lifting

Here's the mechanism worth understanding: luxury and upper-upscale projects account for 58.9% of all pipeline projects but 71.1% of all pipeline keys. The gap comes down to residential components.

Nearly every major luxury project now pairs hotel rooms with for-sale branded residences. Presale deposits and eventual gross sale proceeds have become a significant part of the capital stack — often making projects financially feasible where the hotel component alone wouldn't pencil out. In other words, condo buyers are effectively bankrolling new resort construction.

HVS counts 64 residential components attached to the pipeline. The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos sit clearly on top, together representing 40.6% of the branded residential pipeline, followed by the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. All four rank among the Caribbean's most visited markets, which supports global demand for the for-sale product.

What does this change for operators and investors?

Jamaica offers one clue about where scale is heading. The island accounts for just 4.2% of pipeline projects but 11.3% of pipeline keys, reflecting the larger footprint of its luxury and upper-upscale developments. Fewer projects, bigger boxes — that's the pattern the residential-financing model rewards.

The full picture arrives at the 15th edition of CHICOS, running November 10–12, 2026, at Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas, where HVS will present the detailed supply pipeline.

Not every announced project will break ground, and new ones surface almost monthly. Still, the snapshot signals a broadly bullish stance on high-end Caribbean travel — with branded residences as the financial engine behind a growing share of it.