Hyatt to Open First Ethiopia Hotel as Africa, China Travel Grows

(Bloomberg) -- Hyatt Hotels Corp. plans to open its first hotel in Ethiopia by the end of the year as it seeks to double its African portfolio to tap growing visits by both African and Chinese travelers.

The property in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, will be followed by Hyatt’s first hotels in Algeria and Senegal in early 2019 and in Kenya the year after, according to Kurt Straub, the company’s vice president for the Middle East and Africa. Hyatt in October said it would invest an estimated $200 million in new hotels on the continent.

“Things are opening up in Ethiopia, it’s very exciting what’s going on there,” Straub said in an interview in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, referring to Ethiopia’s recent pledge to loosen control of the state-planned economy and invite more foreign investment. “It’s much easier now that it’s open, there’s a path.”

Hyatt will operate the Ethiopian hotel through a management contract with U.K.-based ASB Development Ltd., which already has business there, according to Straub. Hyatt is also looking into opening outlets in the Ethiopian cities of Awasa and Mekelle, he said.

Hyatt, whose portfolio on the continent includes hotels in Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Tanzania, is open to franchising opportunities, Straub said. It also sees major opportunities from a growing Chinese market and intra-African travel, according to Tejas Shah, the company’s regional vice president for sub-Saharan Africa.

‘Traveling Tremendously’

China’s middle class is “traveling tremendously” with the number of passport-holders growing, while India, too, ”will start to travel,” he said in the same interview. In addition, “four out of 10 travelers in Africa actually originate from the continent and we see that growing.”

In Algeria, Hyatt’s management contract is for a 326-room hotel at Algiers airport, while its Senegalese property will be in the capital, Dakar. For Kenya, the company will introduce the Hyatt House and Hyatt Place brands in Nairobi and later expand to the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa. Straub declined to give details on costs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bella Genga in Nairobi at bgenga2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn

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