Ethiopia has positioned itself as one of Africa’s most dynamic hotel development markets, with nearly 80% of its planned hotel rooms now under construction – one of the highest ratios on the continent, according to the 2026 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report released Tuesday.
The W Hospitality Group report reveals Ethiopia currently has 5,964 rooms across 34 hotels in its development pipeline, ranking fifth among African nations by total volume. More significantly, 4,768 of those rooms – a striking 79.9% – are already under construction, placing Ethiopia second only to Kenya (79.5%) among the continent’s top 10 markets for construction momentum.
This construction-heavy pipeline signals that new hotel supply in Ethiopia will come online faster than in many competing markets, where projects remain stalled in earlier planning stages.
“Ethiopia and Kenya both have nearly 80% of their rooms under construction, closely followed by Tanzania at 77.5%,” said Trevor Ward, Managing Director of W Hospitality Group. “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.”
The contrast with other major markets is stark. Nigeria, Africa’s third-largest pipeline by volume with 8,480 rooms, has only 39.2% of those rooms under construction. Egypt, which dominates the continent with a staggering 45,984 pipeline rooms, is actively building just over half (51.4%) of its planned capacity.
Ethiopian hotels in the pipeline average 175 rooms, slightly above the continental average, suggesting development focused on mid-to-large scale properties.
The East African construction boom comes as part of a broader continental expansion, with Africa’s total hotel pipeline reaching a record 123,846 rooms across 675 properties – an 18.6% year-on-year increase. However, the report warns that development activity is increasingly concentrated, with the top 10 countries now accounting for 79% of all pipeline rooms.
Marriott International leads all operators in Africa with 31,782 pipeline rooms, followed by Hilton and Accor. The five largest global chains collectively account for approximately 80% of all pipeline hotels across the continent.
While more than 65,000 rooms are projected to open across Africa in 2026 and 2027, the report cautions that historical actualisation rates suggest actual deliveries may fall short of current forecasts.
The findings will be discussed in greater depth at the Future Hospitality Summit Africa, scheduled for March 31 to April 1 in Nairobi.
