The HVI is the authoritative guide to U.S. hotel values, giving hotel stakeholders an educated edge in buying, selling, and holding opportunities. This online tool provides historical and projected values and RevPAR for the Africa market.
Africa’s tourism is surging past pre-pandemic levels, with strong growth and rising investor interest. Yet risks of overtourism, seen in Europe, are emerging in hotspots like Serengeti, Cape Town, and Botswana. A sustainable path requires balancing people, planet, and profit to safeguard heritage, communities, and long-term economic gains.
Today’s travelers are prioritizing their health and wellbeing more than ever before, triggering the rapid development worldwide of dedicated resorts and driving mainstream hotels to expand their facilities. Hala Matar Choufany, president of HVS Middle East Africa, drills down into the numbers and explains why health-related resorts offer significant potential for regional developers.
Africa’s hotel pipeline is expanding, but delivery challenges persist. The Future Hospitality Summit Africa highlighted issues like misaligned financing, FX volatility, and policy fragmentation. While investor interest is strong, success now hinges on execution, local expertise, and viable delivery models.
Choosing the right hotel operating model (franchise, management agreement, or third-party operator) depends on owner goals, market conditions, and property characteristics. Franchises offer brand support but require strict standards. Management agreements, common in the Middle East, balance risk and reward. Third-party operators provide flexibility and cost efficiency. Owners must evaluate options to maximize returns as market dynamics shift.
In Focus: Singapore provides an overview of Singapore's tourism landscape and hotel market performance, infrastructure developments, hotel transactions and investments in 2024, an in-focus topic on MICE and the entertainment tourism industry, as well as an outlook.
Our views around the world reflect early optimism for 2025, with the anticipation of stronger transaction activity and modestly improving hotel metrics in most regions.
The Middle East's luxury hotel market is expanding, fueled by economic diversification and a growing population of high-net-worth individuals. Key destinations like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are experiencing significant development in luxury accommodations. However, potential oversupply in major cities could affect room rates and occupancy. The outlook remains positive, supported by continued investment in unique, high-end experiences.
In this interview, Hala Matar Choufany discusses with Hospitality News Middle East and Rita Ghantous the new service lines offered by HVS Middle East & Africa, along with insights into the market outlook, emerging trends, and regional sentiment impacting the hospitality industry.
The hospitality sector is experiencing major transformations influenced by several key factors. As the industry grows, investors will prioritize opportunities that balance profitability with social and environmental responsibility, ensuring a dynamic and forward-thinking hospitality industry.
Hala offers insights into how boards drive company profitability, their crucial role in defining vision and strategy, and perspectives on growth and profitability in the MEA region.