Egypt Leads Africa’s Hotel Development Pipeline in 2025
- Business Companies Hospitality Regional
Global Business Magazine- 5 minutes read
Egypt is leading the Africa’s hotel chain development pipeline in 2025, with 143 hotels and nearly 34,000 rooms under various stages of construction, up from 109 hotels and around 26,000 rooms in 2024.
According to the 17th annual edition of W Hospitality Group’s Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report, Egypt accounts for 32.5% of all rooms being developed across the continent, and remains well ahead of second-place Morocco, which has 58 hotels and 8,600 rooms in the pipeline.
The report covers 54 countries in Africa, comprising North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt), sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean islands (Seychelles, Mauritius, The Comoros and Madagascar).
The report said that Cairo vies with Lagos as being the largest city in Africa and is comprised of various conurbations, including New Cairo, a satellite city in its own right. Accor (19 hotels), Marriott International (18), Hilton (17) and IHG (13) have the largest pipelines, together 14,630 rooms in the city.
The report also said that around 30% of the pipeline rooms are scheduled to open this year and next, with Barceló, Mandarin Oriental (taking charge of the historic Shepheard Hotel) and Radisson Hotel Group joining those four with hotels opening.
Accor Dominates Sharm El Sheikh
Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh, literally known as “Bay of the Sheikh,” is one of Africa’s primary resorts, located on the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula, on the Red Sea coast. The development pipeline is dominated by Accor, with eight of the nine projects there, and 96% of the rooms bearing one of their brands, including Fairmont, MGallery and Rixos.
Hilton is also set to open its lifestyle brands, the Curio Collection and Tapestry Collection, to Egypt as part of its plans to more than triple its presence in the country and exceed 40 properties in the coming years.
“As of early 2025, the chains’ development pipelines total a record 577 hotels and resorts with 104,444 rooms, up an incredible 13.3% on 2024, way ahead of the single digit pipeline growth reported globally by the leading international chains,” the report said.
Quoting a report from Global Cities Institute, Trevor Howard, Managing Director of W Hospitality Group, said that 10 of the world’s 16 largest cities will be in Africa by 2100, with all but one of them (Cairo) in sub-Saharan Africa. It is undeniable that those growing cities generate economic growth and hotel demand, and therefore opportunities for new development.
Africa presents tremendous development opportunities as we expand our footprint and introduce new brands to the continent for the first time. 2024 was a remarkable year and we remain committed to growing our presence, with more than 90 hotels in the pipeline across the continent. In Morocco, we are on track to more than double our portfolio, surpassing 20 hotels in the coming years.
Carlos Khneisser, Vice President, Development, Middle East & Africa, Hilton, said that they have announced several new deals, including the signing of the first LXR Hotels & Resorts in Casablanca, marking the debut of the luxury brand in Morocco last year.
Additionally, Waldorf Astoria will open in the capital city of Rabat, alongside further expansions of our popular lifestyle Curio Collection by Hilton brand and value-driven, midscale brands such as Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton, he said.
“In Egypt, we announced ten new signings and several brand debuts, with plans to triple our presence and exceed 40 properties operating across the country in the coming years. These include the introduction of our lifestyle Curio Collection by Hilton and Tapestry Collection by Hilton brands and a new all-inclusive resort under our flagship Hilton Hotels & Residences brand,” he added.
