While the number of U.S. hotels under construction was up nearly 13 percent in July compared with the same year-ago month, projects in the pipeline have fallen off, according to London-based STR Global, a leading provider of worldwide hotel market data.

The total active development pipeline in July was 2,745 projects and 300,954 rooms, or a 6.9 percent decrease in the number of rooms, according to the latest STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report.

By comparison, the Central Pennsylvania market was off 55 percent compared with July 2011, according to STR data. There were 25 properties and 1,766 rooms in the current active pipeline last month compared with 36 properties and 2,740 rooms last July.

The data includes projection in the construction phase, final planning and planning stages, but not preplanning.

The upscale and upper midscale segments led all other segments in U.S. hotel rooms under construction in July at 19,605 and 18,831, respectively, according to STR.

The economy segment reported the highest percentage gain at 40.6 percent.

In Central Pennsylvania, there were no projects under construction in July, according to STR. Last July, there were five with a total of 416 hotel rooms.

The luxury segment reported the largest growth in rooms in the total active U.S. pipeline with 7,951 rooms, an increase of 93.1 percent compared with July 2011. The upper upscale segment fell 26.9 percent, the largest decrease on the chain scale, according to STR.

Defining the Central Pa. market

STR Global provided local hotel market data for Central Pennsylvania.

It breaks the area down by Carlisle/Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg/Hershey, Lancaster and York/Chambersburg, said Rachael Spann Urie, a company spokeswoman.

Here are active year-end pipeline figures provided for the last five years, broken down by properties and rooms.