Zim’s chain hotel pipeline ticks up, but lags regional peers

By ETimes

HARARE – ZIMBABWE had eight chain hotels with 946 rooms in its development pipeline at the start of 2026, according to an industry report that highlights the country’s modest scale compared with regional heavyweights like Kenya and South Africa.

The data, published in the Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa – 2026 report, indicate that all eight properties are currently at the pre-construction stage.

Only 16% of the planned rooms are currently under construction, one of the lowest ratios among the 42 African countries with active pipeline deals.

The report, which tracks legally binding management and franchise agreements from 53 international and regional hotel chains, ranks Zimbabwe near the bottom of the continent’s development table.

By comparison, Kenya has 35 pipeline hotels with more than 6,190 rooms, while South Africa has 31 hotels totalling over 4,100 rooms.

“As of early 2026 the chains’ development pipelines total a record 675 hotels and resorts with 123,846 rooms, up 18.6 per cent on 2025,” the report stated.

Egypt alone accounts for 45,984 of those rooms.

Zimbabwe’s eight pipeline hotels are not among the 52 chain properties tracked as having opened across Africa in 2025, nor do they feature in the report’s top 10 countries or cities by development activity.

The pipeline number excludes domestic-only hotel chains, meaning Zimbabwe’s actual development activity could be slightly higher, though still marginal compared to regional leaders.