By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Caribbean-Mexico development pipeline is nearing 30,000 rooms, according to a new report from hotel analytics firm STR.

There were 170 hotels and 29,572 rooms in the hotel development pipeline in the Caribbean and Mexico through September, according to STR.

That represented a 23.5 percent increase in rooms under contract compared with the same month in 2013, with a 31 percent increase in rooms in construction.

The upscale segment accounted for the largest number of rooms in the latest report, with 7,213 rooms.

The luxury segment was next with 6,189 rooms or 20.9 percent of the total pipeline.