Nigeria gets 12 hotels, 1700 rooms in Radisson Group’s 50% growth plan

• Targets West/Central Africa growth by 2030

Ben Eguzozie

A portfolio expansion plan across west and central Africa by the Radisson Hotel Group will see the hotel chain ramp up its presence in Nigeria to 12 hotels offering 1,700 rooms.

The group is targeting a 50 percent growth that will see its chain rise to 29 hotels with over 5,000 rooms in operation and under development as it builds on the success of its expansion strategy in 2024.

Within the past 12 months, the hotel group signed five new hotels, adding over 1,000 rooms to the region’s portfolio.

Radisson Hotel Group is an international hotel group, operating in EMEA [Europe, Middle-East and Africa] and APAC [Asia, Pacific and Caribbean] with over 1,320 hotels in operation and under development in  over 90 countries.

These hotel signings included new market entries into The Gambia with Radisson Blu Beach Resort & Spa, Banjul and Radisson Hotel Benin City in Nigeria. In addition to the Radisson hotel in Benin City, the signing of Radisson Collection Hotel & Conference Center, Abuja; Radisson Blu Hotel, Abuja CBD and Radisson RED Lagos VI further strengthened the Group’s position as the market leaders in Nigeria, doubling the Group’s development pipeline in a year and expanding the portfolio in Nigeria to 12 hotels and over 1700 rooms.

Defining Radisson Hotel Group’s expansion strategy for West and Central Africa, Erwan Garnier, senior director, development, Africa at the Radisson Hotel Group said, “West and Central Africa has become increasingly important markets for our development across the continent. 2023 was a strong year for our expansion in the region and allowed us to further strengthen our leading position in Nigeria as well as enter a new market, The Gambia with our core brand Radisson Blu. It further demonstrates our ability to consistently deliver in key focus markets while focusing on materialising the signing. Indeed 4 out 5 of the signings are already under active construction.”

Garnier added, “Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remain the six countries to develop this region with a clear strategy for city-wide growth in major African capitals, financial centres, and tourist destinations. In addition, we are focusing our efforts on large-scale expansion in eight proactive cities in West and Central Africa. These destinations are Abuja, Lagos, Accra, Abidjan, Dakar, Yaoundé, Douala, and Kinshasa. Our development strategy for West and Central Africa focuses on business hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, and mixed-use projects”.

In 2023, the Radisson Hotel Group maintained its expansion momentum in Africa with eight new hotel signings, adding more than 1,600 rooms to its already robust portfolio on the continent. With this progress, the Group is well on track to achieving its objective of reaching 150 hotels in Africa over the next five years, up from its current count of 100 hotels.

Furthermore, over the past three years, the hotel group has emerged as the fastest-growing hotel group in Africa, with 20 hotel openings across the continent. This remarkable achievement has set a record for the Group in terms of the realisation of its pipeline into openings and has resulted in an impressive 15 percent annual growth on its African portfolio.

The international hotel group is rapidly expanding with a plan to significantly grow the portfolio. The Group’s overarching brand promise is Every Moment Matters with a signature Yes I Can! service ethos. The Radisson family of brands portfolio includes Radisson Collection, art’otel, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and prizeotel brought together under one commercial umbrella brand Radisson Hotels.