Mövenpick signs a deal in Addis Ababa

Research . 7 years ago

Addis Ababa

ethiopia

Movenpick

Yobek Electrical Enterprise

Mövenpick signs a deal in Addis Ababa

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Mövenpick, the Swiss hospitality group, announced that it has signed a 20-year management agreement for a new hotel with Yobek Electrical Enterprise in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The negotiation for the hotel deal took over two years and was negotiated by Ozzie Business & Hospitality Management Group, according to Capital Ethiopia. The hotel will be developed…


Mövenpick, the Swiss hospitality group, announced that it has signed a 20-year management agreement for a new hotel with Yobek Electrical Enterprise in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The negotiation for the hotel deal took over two years and was negotiated by Ozzie Business & Hospitality Management Group, according to Capital Ethiopia.

The hotel will be developed on a 6,000 square meter site close to the Addis Ababa Airport.  It will have 252 rooms, a swimming pool, fitness center, six food & beverage outlets, meeting facilities that can accommodate up to 1,600 persons and six meeting rooms, and parking facilities that can accommodate up to 410 cars.

Andreas Mattmuller, the COO of Mövenpick Middle East and Africa, highlighted Addis Ababa’s regional diplomatic importance as being one of the reasons for signing the deal.  He also said, “the stability of the country is also an attraction.”  The company operates properties in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, its only property in Sub Saharan Africa is the Mövenpick Accra.

Berhane Gidey, Founder and General Manager of Yobek Enterprises, said that the project is currently 60% complete and is scheduled to be completed by 2019.  His company was established in 2000, engaging in the importation and distribution of electronic products, and since 2012 diversified into the real estate sector.  The development of this hotel is estimated to cost approximately US$52 million.

Addis Ababa had long been characterized by a lack of internationally-branded hotel chains, but in the last five years has seen exponential growth in the branded hotel supply.   In early 2014, the city only had two international brands operating – Sheraton and Radisson Blu.  However in the years since they have been joined by Marriott, Hilton, Golden Tulip and Wyndham.  According to a report on Asoko Insight, the city’s hotel supply has increased by almost 200% in the last five years.  The capital invested in the hotel industry has also grown from approximately US$3.5 billion to US$4.4 billion.  And per W Hospitality Group’s 2016 hotel development pipeline report, there were 12 hotels with 2,460 rooms being planned in the country, majority of which were located in Addis Ababa.