Looking for the nicest place to spend the night and savour the ambience of the African aura? Well, you needn’t look further as Addis Ababa has been named as the most expensive place for a good night’s sleep.

This trendy development made known in a press release distributed by the African Press Organisation, is coming on the heels of a survey of prices of international grade hotels in selected major African cities.

The survey was produced by hospitality research firm STR Global ahead of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) taking place at Beach Events at the end of September.

The average rate in US$ (constant currency) for a hotel room in the first six months of this year in Addis Ababa was $231.78/ night.  This stands relatively higher compared with $215.75 for a room in Lagos, $144.76 in Nairobi, $122.30 in Cape Town, $105.73 in Casablanca, $103.54 in Cairo, $72.90 in Johannesburg and $70.70 in Sharm El Sheikh.

Director of Business Development, STR Global, Thomas Emanuel, ascribed the difference in rates across major African cities to the forces of demand and supply.

Addis Ababa’s ascent among Africa’s cosmopolitan cities is owing to the rapid growth rate of Ethiopia which has in turn, elicited more conferences coming to the city by virtue of its status as the seat of the African Union and with Ethiopian Airways on a similar growth trajectory.

Managing Director of Bench Events; Matthew Weihs concluded that the wide disparity in room rates with exceptional prices being achieved in places where there is a shortage of supply, make it clear that there are parts of Africa that offer very attractive prospects for hotel investors.