Nigeria has emerged as the third most active country in Africa for hotel development, with 48 hotel projects and 7,320 rooms in the pipeline, according to the 2025 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report by W Hospitality Group.
This latest ranking places Nigeria behind only Egypt and Morocco on the continent’s top 10 list of countries with the largest number of branded hotel rooms in development.
Managing Director of W Hospitality Group, Trevor Ward, described the continent’s overall performance as “a really positive story,” noting that “the hotel chains signed 125 new deals last year, with 21,000 rooms,” representing a 13.3 per cent year-on-year growth in pipeline activity.
“The chains’ development pipelines total a record 577 hotels and resorts with 104,444 rooms,” Ward stated.
Nigeria accounts for about seven per cent of this total, and 77 per cent of all rooms are concentrated in the top 10 countries, including Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco.
In terms of city-specific performance, Lagos ranked second only to Cairo, Egypt, in the report’s list of African resort cities with the highest number of anticipated additions to room supply. The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, came in at number eight.
The report highlighted hotel development in Lagos, regarded as Nigeria’s commercial capital, noting that it is “a conglomeration of various urban centres, more and more merging into one but with distinct demand profiles.”
The report also highlighted that Marriott International leads the development charge in Lagos, with eight hotels and 1,228 rooms planned. Accor has five hotels in the pipeline, while Radisson Hotel Group and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts have three each. Hilton is developing two hotels in the city.
In Abuja, however, the pace is slower. The capital has 14 hotel projects in the pipeline, dominated by Marriott International with nine and Radisson Hotel Group with three.
The report revealed that “nine are still in the pre-planning stage,” and most of those under construction are moving pretty slowly. None are likely to open in 2025.
Nigeria’s improved position in this year’s ranking saw it overtake Morocco in third place, driven by a notable increase in deal sizes and brand commitments.
While North Africa recorded a 23 per cent increase in pipeline growth, sub-Saharan Africa, where Nigeria belongs, saw a more modest 6 per cent rise. Despite this, Nigeria stands out as one of the region’s “giants” alongside Ethiopia, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Kenya.
Ward attributed the rapid growth in some cities to population expansion and urbanisation. “By the year 2100, 10 of the world’s 16 largest cities will be in Africa, with all but one of them (Cairo) in sub-Saharan Africa,” he remarked, citing projections by the Global Cities Institute.
He added, “It is undeniable that those growing cities generate economic growth and hotel demand, and therefore opportunities for new development.”
The W Hospitality Group’s 2025 edition of hotel development included feedback from 50 international and regional hotel chains, reporting on 145 brands with signed deals across 42 African countries.
The group also reported that 59 hotels and resorts, with about 9,500 rooms, were completed in 2024, “just over double” the number delivered the previous year. Looking ahead, chains aim to open 155 hotels in 2025, with expectations to deliver about half the current pipeline by the end of 2026.
