{"id":222131,"date":"2026-04-29T11:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=222131"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:38:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:38:00","slug":"interview-ward-w-hospitality-hotelierie-afrique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/interview-ward-w-hospitality-hotelierie-afrique","title":{"rendered":"T. Ward (W Hospitality): \"Africa offers considerable growth potential\""},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you explain the growing interest of major hotel groups in Africa?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trevor Ward \u2013<\/strong> Hotel groups, particularly those listed on the stock exchange, critically need growth. However, compared to other markets like the United States, where brand penetration is over 70 %, Africa remains very poorly covered. Less than 10 %of hotels on the continent are affiliated with an international brand today, according to my estimate. The development potential is therefore considerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this dynamic driven more by new builds or by the conversion of existing establishments?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Television <\/strong>The vast majority of projects are based on new builds. Very few existing hotels can meet the standards of international brands, either in a simple or economically viable way. Furthermore, a large portion of the African hotel stock belongs to individual owners who do not necessarily feel the need to be affiliated with a brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In your study on group pipelines, you note that some projects have been in development for a very long time. What obstacles are still hindering the acceleration of this growth?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Television <\/strong>Our figures record hotels and resorts whose contracts have been signed between chains and property developers. Some are under construction, others still exist only on paper. For the chains, the main difficulty lies in identifying serious developers who have both the financial resources and the necessary technical skills to develop establishments that meet their standards \u2013 hotel groups do not build or finance the hotels themselves. For developers, the obstacles are essentially threefold: securing land titles, accessing finance, and the availability of design and construction expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n