Nigeria has fallen to third place in Africa’s 2025 hotel development pipeline, with 48 projects totaling 7,320 rooms planned—down from second position last year. The shift, revealed in the 17th edition of the Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa 2025 report by Lagos-based W Hospitality Group, sees Nigeria overtaken by Morocco (8,579 rooms) and Egypt, which alone accounts for 32.5% of the continent’s rooms under development .
Across Africa, a record 577 hotels and 104,444 rooms are in the pipeline—a 13.3% increase year-on-year. North Africa drives much of this growth (230 hotels, 49,260 rooms), while Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 347 hotels and 55,184 rooms under development.
Within Nigeria’s portfolio, 61% of rooms (4,468) remain in pre-construction, and 39% (2,852) are already under construction. Lagos continues to lead domestic activity, with Marriott International spearheading eight projects (1,228 rooms), followed by Accor’s five, Radisson Hotel Group and Wyndham’s three apiece, and Hilton’s two upcoming properties.
Morocco surged ahead by signing 13 new hotel deals in 2024—more than double Nigeria’s five. This underscores the importance of deal-making and execution in the continent’s competitive hospitality market.
The report notes that although Africa opened 59 chain hotels (≈9,500 rooms) in 2024, only three of Egypt’s 12 scheduled properties and 10 of Morocco’s 20 launched, pointing to persistent execution hurdles. Projections for 2025 foresee up to 155 hotel openings, with roughly half of all pipeline projects coming online by 2026.
