COVID-19 live blog roundup: hotel projects status in Africa

Africa was hit by the coronavirus massively and will sense it full impact over the next couple of month. (Picture: Kyle Cut Media / Unsplash)

We summarise updates shared on the TOPHOTELNEWS Covid19 live blog to draw a picture of how Africa’s hotel projects industry is negotiating the ongoing crisis.

The international hospitality industry has been sent into a tailspin with the sudden onslaught of the coronavirus crisis. From lockdowns to travel bans and border closures, hotels, bars and restaurants are having to navigate more uncertain waters than ever before.

TOPHOTELPROJECTS has been tracking in real time the developments within the industry as it reacts to the continuing crisis, and we recap some of the recent activity that has been happening in Africa in response to the pandemic.

The good

Africa has yet to experience the full effects of Covid19, and the region is bracing for the devastation that has hit the rest of the world, but unfortunately has the power to do even more damage in this area. Social distancing and self-isolation is more difficult to achieve, and health services operating in Africa are already stretched and lack essential equipment and care facilities.

So there are very few good news stories coming out of Africa when it comes to hospitality, but one that made headlines on the TOPHOTELNEWS live blog recently was the announcement that the new Swiss International The Vistana in Lagos, Nigeria would be opening at the end of May when it initial wave of the virus had made its impact known.

The postponed and the stalled

The opening of the Sol Oasis Marrakech is delayed, with the new opening date set for the beginning of July, hopefully in time to catch a wave of tourism if restrictions are eased. The Profit Matters: MENA Annual Hotel Performance Tracker said that the hospitality industry in the region had suffered a severe blow because of the coronavirus, and that the average per room profit would be almost impossible to recover before the year is out. The opening of the Ritz-Carlton Dar Es Salam has been postponed, and the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Tamuda Bay in Morocco has been delayed.

Market insight

The performance of hotels in the African market has gotten progressively worse as the reality of Covid19 sets in. RevPAR is down across the continent, according to new stats released by STR. Citizens of South Africa responded to a survey saying they would be wary of travel and tourism for some time to come following the coronavirus outbreak.

However, South African analysts predict a spike in demand for value-driven tourism such as aparthotels in a post-Covid19 world. Wayne Troughton, managing director of HTI Consulting, says, “It’s becoming clear to us that value-driven products, especially in the accommodation sector, like aparthotels or traditional hotels offering far more amenities over and above their core offering for the price of a room, will be better positioned to meet these travellers’ needs.”