The findings of this year’s Hotel Chain Development Pipeline Survey, produced by W Hospitality Group, shows a surge in hotel development in Africa, with a jump in the development pipeline to 270 hotels and nearly 50,000 rooms, and with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) exceeding North Africa by almost 70%. 

The data reveals a modest recovery in North Africa and increasing confidence in SSA - only two years ago the number of rooms in the North African pipeline was the same as that in sub-Saharan Africa. This year’s survey is based on contributions from 37 international hotel chains with 80 brands between them.

However, the SSA region has far more national markets than North Africa, (49 countries compared to just 5) but the entire SSA region has historically been underserved with branded hotels.

Growth in the pipeline in North Africa has slowed considerably, impacted by unrest and political conflict. For example, Libya, a country which many groups were focusing on just two years ago, has seen no new hotel development deals. Egypt, which has traditionally been a major growth market, lost some projects to delays and cancellations in 2014. 

As a sub-region, West Africa has by far the greatest number of rooms in the pipeline, more than double that of East Africa. This is largely thanks to Nigeria, which became the largest economy on the continent in 2014 after it rebased its GDP figures. It has the largest population and the largest number of urban conurbations in one country, with the exception of South Africa.