Paris-based AccorHotels just announced the signing of three hotels in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Accor will manage and operate all three hotels for different investors under three of its brands – Mercure, ibis Styles and ibis.

The ibis Styles is the first of the hotels scheduled to open.  The 135-room full-service hotel will be developed by Metro Hospitality Services, and is scheduled for delivery in 2019.  The site of the hotel is located near the UN Headquarters.

The Mercure hotel will be a midscale 162-room hotel and is scheduled to open the following year, 2020.  The deal was signed with Tihnat Investments PLC and is also located in proximity to the UN building.  The hotel will feature 400 square meters of meeting and banqueting facilities, food and beverage outlets, as well as a fitness facility.

The third and largest hotel of the three is a 230-room ibis hotel that was signed with Abay Technic Trading.  The hotel project is designed to be housed in a 22-floor building, and will be located near the African Union building.  The hotel will also have full food and beverage offerings, as well as 300 square meters of meeting facilities.

At the official signature ceremony for the event Steven Daines, CEO of AccorHotels Africa & MiddleEast, said, “AccorHotels has strong ambitions to maintain leadership on the continent by consolidating its position in West and North Africa and by boosting its development in East and Southern Africa.  I would like to warmly thank our partners for their trust and confidence in building a successful partnership.”

The hotel group announced the signing of its first hotel in Ethiopia in 2014 – a 300-room Pullman, which is expected to open in 2017.  The following year AccorHotels signed a deal with Nibras Hotels Development for a 156-room Novotel, which is also expected to open in 2017.  The company now has signed deals for five hotels with almost 1,000 rooms scheduled to open in Addis Ababa by 2021.

Ethiopia is one of the more diverse economies that has seen continued growth, relative to other single commodity economies on the continent.  The launch of its electrified railway line to Djibouti in 2016 has served as a catalyst for economic growth.  In the 2016 hotel chain development pipeline report by W Hospitality Group, Ethiopia was highlighted as one of the top 10 countries for pipeline growth by number of rooms.  Ethiopia had 12 hotels in the pipeline with almost 2,500 rooms, 75% of which were already under construction.

AccorHotels operates in 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 5,535 rooms in 36 hotels.  In addition to the brands already mentioned, the company also operates the Sofitel and MGallery by Sofitel brands in Africa.