Five global brands lead in Africa’s hospitality sector development

March 11, 2026 in Infrastructure, Real Estate & Property, Travel & Tourism by Editor

The Marriott Hotel and Executive Apartments in Kampala is expected to open before the end of this year and will feature 181 rooms and suites, executive apartments, a rooftop bar, a pool, a spa, and extensive event spaces.

Five global brands account for 80 pc of Africa’s current hotel development, but construction is concentrated in a small number of dominant markets located in North Africa.

In a report by W Hospitality Group, the 123,846 rooms in the pipeline across 675 hotels and resorts, represents a year-on-year growth of 18.6%, or 12.2% on a same-store basis.

Marriott International leads with 31,782 rooms, followed by Hilton, Accor, IHG and Radisson Hotel Group. At 45,984, a third of planned rooms will be in Egypt across 185 properties. This is over four times the number in second-placed Morocco, which has 10,606 rooms. As of the beginning of 2026, Marriott International is the world’s largest hotel company, operating over 9,800 properties across 145 countries.

The report, 2026 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa, has been published in the run-up to the Future Hospitality Summit Africa to take place from March 31 to April 1st in Nairobi. This is Africa’s leading hospitality investment and leadership forum, bringing together senior executives, investors, developers and policymakers to drive sustainable growth and collaboration across the hospitality ecosystem.

According to the report, together, Egypt and Morocco account for more than 45% of total pipeline rooms. Egypt alone recorded 39 new deals last year and anticipates 33 openings in 2026, reinforcing its sustained development momentum.

Trevor Ward, Managing Director of W Hospitality Group said, “The data clearly show that Africa’s hotel development story is being driven by a handful of high-performing markets, with Egypt firmly at the forefront in both signings and projected openings.”

Beyond overall scale, the pipeline status data reveals that execution momentum is currently strongest in East Africa. Ethiopia and Kenya both have nearly 80 pc of their rooms under construction, closely followed by Tanzania at 77.5 pc.

This compares with significantly lower proportions of projects under construction in markets such as Nigeria and Cape Verde. While North Africa dominates in overall volume, East Africa is leading in terms of projects actively progressing toward completion and near-term delivery.

“What stands out this year is the strength of East Africa in terms of projects moving forward. Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania show some of the highest construction ratios on the continent, which suggests that this is where we are likely to see new supply coming through in the short to medium term,” Ward said.

Marriott International operates several properties in Uganda, primarily through its Protea Hotels brand, with a focus on the Kampala and Entebbe areas. Key properties include the Protea Hotel Kampala Skyz, Protea Hotel Naguru Skyz, Protea Hotel Entebbe, and the Four Points by Sheraton Kampala.

The report states that although more than 65,000 rooms are forecast to open in 2026 and 2027, historical actualisation rates suggest delivery may fall short of projections, highlighting the ongoing gap between ambition and execution.

According to Forbes, building hotels in Africa is driven by a massive, largely untapped market with high demand for quality accommodation, a booming luxury tourism sector, and strong economic growth. Investors are also targeting the continent due to rising travel demand for eco-tourism and safari experiences, an expanding middle class and significant job creation opportunities.