…As Egypt, Marriott lead African hotel pipeline, Nigeria decline in room ratio
The burgeoning African hospitality industry is set for further growth with 125 new hotels and additional 21,000 rooms deals signed last year by some international hotel chains and development partners in 42 of Africa’s 54 countries.
The deals, amid record activities across the continent and major international hotel chains, were revealed in this year’s African Hotel Development Pipeline Report, a definitive study of international hospitality development projects in Africa, compiled by W Hospitality Group, a Lagos-based outfit.
This year’s study revealed 577 hotels and resorts, with 104,444 rooms, in the development pipeline, representing 13.3 percent growth in 2024, and way ahead of the single digit pipeline growth reported globally by the leading international chains.
According to the report, with data from 50 international and regional hotel chains, development activities have been growing impressively in North Africa, with a 23 percent year-on-year increase, compared to a 6 percent increase in sub-Saharan Africa.
This is as over the past five years, the hotel development pipeline has grown at an annualised rate of 4 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, 12 percent in North Africa and 7 percent overall.
However, the hotel development boom in Africa is boosted by Egypt and Marriott’s superlative performances, with Egypt maintaining its last year’s lead with 143 hotels and 33,926 rooms in the pipeline, while Marriott International led other global chains with 165 hotels and 29,639 rooms, representing 28.4 percent of the overall pipeline projects.
Sadly, Egypt’s feat, according to the report, is almost four times the number of rooms in second-placed Morocco, which has 8,579 rooms in 58 hotels, and third-placed Nigeria with Nigeria, 7,320 rooms.
Other countries, ranked by number of rooms, include: Ethiopia 5,648; Cape Verde 5,565; Kenya 4,344; Tunisia 4,336; South Africa 4,076; Tanzania 3,432; and Ghana 3,125.
Last year, Nigeria trailed Egypt at the second position, with Morocco as third. This year, it was displaced by Morocco, which is now second. In addition to the displacement, the gap between Egypt, the leader and Nigeria is far too wide; 33,926 rooms in the pipeline against 7,320 rooms, as well, the West African country has one of the lowest percentages of ratio of rooms “on site”.
But the consolation for Nigeria is that its two major cities; Lagos and Abuja were ranked among cities with the largest pipelines by number of rooms, with Lagos leading with 3,709 rooms.
Meanwhile, despite its clear leadership in the absolute pipeline numbers, Egypt has fewer than 50 percent of rooms under construction, a significantly lower proportion than second-placed Morocco, with over 72 percent.
Of the top 10 countries, Ethiopia has the highest ratio of rooms “on site”, followed by Morocco and Ghana. Cape Verde, Nigeria and Tanzania have some of the lowest percentages.
The report also cleared the air that “under construction” does not necessarily mean that there is activity and progress towards completion and opening, citing many sites in Nigeria and Ghana as examples, which have been closed for several years, with hardly a hard hat in sight.
The report’s more granular analysis, looking at the location of planned properties, revealed an extraordinary boom in Cairo, with 17,757 new rooms projected in over 70 hotels. The contrast with the second-placed location, Sharm El Sheikh, is dramatic, where 4,231 rooms are planned in fewer than 10 properties. The cities and resorts with the next largest pipelines by number of rooms are Lagos, 3,709; Boa Vista, 3,650; Addis Ababa, 3,369; Casablanca, 2,939; Accra, 2,652; Abuja, 2,570; Zanzibar, 2,523; and Dakar, 2,334.
The growth is being driven strongly by the major international hotel chains, with Marriott International leading the way, 165 hotels with 29,639 rooms. It is followed by Hilton, 93 hotels with 17,040 rooms; Accor, 73 hotels with 15,013 rooms; IHG, 40 hotels with 7,951 rooms; Radisson Hotel Group, 32 hotels with 6,346 rooms; TUI Hotels & Resorts, 11 hotels with 2,954 rooms; Barceló Hotels & Resorts, 7 hotels with 2,193 rooms; The Ascott, 15 hotels with 1,897 rooms; Kerten Hospitality, 13 hotels with 1,881 rooms and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, 7 hotels with 1,706 rooms.
In the race for dominance, Hilton added slightly more rooms to its African pipeline last year than Marriott International and achieved a higher percentage growth. Barceló Hotels & Resorts recorded the largest percentage growth, more than doubling its pipeline to 2,193 rooms, with three large resort signings in North Africa.
Below the headline numbers, the report observed three notable trends. First, the actualisation rate (actual openings vs. expected openings), has nearly doubled from 21 percent in 2023 to 38 percent in 2024. While it is substantially less than the 75 percent actualisation rate achieved in 2019, it shows a continuing recovery from the economic devastation of COVID-19. Of the total 104,444 rooms in the pipeline, over 50,000 rooms (nearly 50 percent) in 304 hotels are expected to open in 2025 and 2026.
Secondly, resort projects are increasing much faster than city or airport hotels, both in percentage terms and in absolute numbers, driven by the number of signings and by the larger average size of the developments, 210 keys vs. 170. Also, almost half of the rooms that opened last year were in resorts.
Thirdly, there is a definite movement by the chains towards the franchise model, with 108 projects representing almost 19 percent of the total, compared to less than 10 percent in 2020. A major factor is the emergence of quality, international, white-label operators such as Aleph Hospitality and Valor Hospitality, and some indigenous operators in Nigeria, Kenya and elsewhere, that are increasing confidence that brand standards will be met.
Commenting on the report, Matthew Weihs, managing director of the Bench, which organises FHS Africa, said: “The growth in hotel development across Africa is a testament to the continent’s economic and tourism potential. Furthermore, the commitment from the international hotel chains makes it clear that global players see Africa as a strategic opportunity.”
On his path, Trevor Ward, managing director, W Hospitality Group, concluded: “Despite the various trials that the continent faces, the fact that hotel chains signed 125 new deals last year, with 21,000 rooms, is evidence that opportunities for further development abound.
“According to the Global Cities Institute, by the year 2100, 10 of the world’s 16 largest cities will be in Africa, with all but one of them (Cairo) in sub-Saharan Africa. So, one might say that development activity in Africa has barely scratched the surface.”
