Egypt, Marriott help boost hotel development as Africa sees 13% growth

Phillip Isakpa

• 577 hotels, resorts, 104,444 rooms in pipeline

• North Africa saw 23% year-on-year increase

• Sub-Saharan Africa saw 6% increase

Trevor Ward, managing director, W Hospitality Group

A huge boom in hotel and resort developments across Africa has registered a 13.3 percent rise in pipeline projects in 2025 over last year, a new report has revealed.

The double digit growth comes against a single digit growth recorded in favour of global pipeline growth by top international hospitality chains.

Specifically, the report, Hotel Development Pipeline Report, described as the definitive study of international hospitality development projects in Africa, showed there are 577 hotels and resorts, with 104,444 rooms, in the development pipeline, an increase of 13.3 percent over that of 2024.

The Trevor Ward Lagos-based W Hospitality Group, which put the study together, received data from 50 international and regional hotel chains, and found that development activity has been growing impressively in North Africa with its 23 percent year-on-year rise, comparatively higher than the six percent growth recorded in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the report, over the past five years, the hotel development pipeline has grown at an annualised rate of four percent in sub-Saharan Africa, 12 percent in North Africa and seven percent overall.

It noted that Egypt continues to lead the way in terms of development, with 143 hotels and 33,926 rooms in the pipeline there. This is almost four times the number of rooms in second-placed Morocco, which has 8,579 rooms in 58 hotels. The following eight countries, ranked by number of rooms, comprise Nigeria, 7,320; Ethiopia, 5,648; Cape Verde, 5,565; Kenya, 4,344; Tunisia, 4,336; South Africa, 4,076; Tanzania, 3,432; and Ghana, 3,125. International hotel chains have deals signed in 42 of Africa’s 54 countries.

In a statement made available to Business a.m., the study revealed that despite Egypt’s clear leadership in the absolute pipeline numbers, it has fewer than 50 percent of rooms under construction, a significantly lower proportion than second-placed Morocco, with over 72 percent.

It further disclosed that 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, but it noted however, that “under construction” does not necessarily mean that there is activity and progress towards completion and opening – many of the sites in Nigeria and Ghana, for example, have been closed for several years, with hardly a hard hat in sight.

“A more granular analysis, looking at the location of planned properties, reveals 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 statement by The Bench explained.

According to the study, the growth is being driven strongly by the major international hotel chains, with Marriott International leading the way on 165 hotels with 29,639 rooms. Marriott 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.

Providing more details, the report disclosed that 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.

Furthermore, the study observed that below the headline numbers, there are three notable trends, namely that first, the actualisation rate (actual openings vs. expected openings), has nearly doubled from 21 percent in 2023 to 38 percent in 2024. “While it’s substantially less than the 75% 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%) in 304 hotels are expected to open in 2025 and 2026,” the report disclosed.

Secondly, the study found that resort projects are increasing much faster than city or airport hotels, both in percentage terms and in absolute numbers, adding that this is driven by the number of signings and by the larger average size of the developments, 210 keys vs. 170. For instance, it said almost half of the rooms that opened last year were in resorts.

The third trend discovered by the study is that 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,” said the study.

From June 17 to 19 in Cape Town, South Africa, the full report is expected to be discussed at FHS Africa (formerly AHIF), the leading hospitality investment conference in the continent, as it brings together senior decision-makers to shape the future of the industry.

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.”

In his comment, Trevor Ward, managing director of W Hospitality Group, said: “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.”