easyHotel has signed a 20-year master franchise agreement with Lonrho Budget Hotels to open and operate a network of properties across Africa.

The plans encompass 50 hotels scheduled to open over the next five years and will focus on African destinations served by easyJet, as well as other large cities across the continent which have demonstrated significant domestic and international demand for clean, safe and consistent quality branded hotel accommodation. 

easyJet currently flies to Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Luxor and Marrakesh.

Commenting on the deal, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, chairman of easyGroup, said: “easyGroup is delighted to be working exclusively with Lonrho to develop the easyHotel network across Africa.

“We look forward to working closely with Lonrho to establish easyHotel as the pre-eminent pan-African budget hotel chain.

“The economic development of the African market, supported by the significant number of foreign visitors, large scale urbanisation and the growing disposable income of the one billion people in the domestic market, clearly provides significant opportunities for growth.”

easyHotel is a well-established chain of budget hotels headquartered in London with hotels spanning from Edinburgh to Dubai.

It is focused on delivering high quality, international-standard bedrooms at an affordable price to customers seeking modern, comfortable accommodation.

David Lenigas, executive chairman of Lonrho, parent of Lonrho Budget Hotels, commented: “We are delighted to have the exclusive rights to develop the easyHotel concept across Africa.

“The low-cost value hotel market is currently undeveloped on the continent yet is arguably the fastest growing sector of the global and African hotel markets.

“Lonrho is already a significant brand name across Africa. We believe that combining it with the successful and well-known ‘easy’ brand to create the Lonrho ‘easyHotel’ chain will satisfy the growing demand from consumers across the continent.

“Lonrho plans to open the first easyHotel in Africa in 2012 and intends to grow the chain rapidly after that, to at least fifty hotels by 2016, taking the Lonrho easyHotel to the majority of the larger cities across the continent.”