RALEIGH, NC-Concord Hospitality Enterprises has pledged $335 million for the development of 15 hotel properties in 2012. According to the company, one of its goals this year is to hit the 14,000-room threshold as a third-party operator and owner. According to Concord officials, all this new activity will create 3,500 construction jobs and a further 1,000 new hotel jobs to local economies.

"We expect to more than double our development pipeline," says Mark Laport, president and CEO. "Operationally, we will focus on adding more premium brand select-service and full-service hotels to our third -party managed portfolio, such as the DoubleTree in Albuquerque and Sheraton in Oklahoma City, which we were selected to manage late in 2011."

To date, the firm’s main focus has been Marriott properties, but Laport says it will expand its focus to include other top-tier branded hotels; Hyatt, Hilton, Starwood and Choice flags are on the list. In fact, he notes that several Cambria Suites and Hyatt House are in the pipeline.