Ethiopia's modern hotel service history began during the reign of Emperor Menilik with the inauguration of Itegue Taytu’s Hotel, which opened its doors in 1906. During the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, Ghion and Wabi Shebele hotels joined the industry.
The Wabe Shebelle Hotel holds a significant place in the history of Addis Ababa. Built in 1968 by HIM Emperor Haile Selassie I, the hotel was gifted to his five grandsons, the children of Prince Makonnen (1924-1957). As Co-Owner of Wabe Shebelle Hotel, S.C., along with his uncles, Prince Joel serves on the Board of Directors.
Addis Ababa Skyline in 1970s
Architectural Significance and Design
Step back to 1968, when the Wabe Shebelle Hotel redefined the Addis Ababa skyline as its tallest building. The hotel was a historic landmark, one of two major 4-star hotels alongside the Hilton in its time. It includes 110 guest rooms, including executive suites, 3 restaurants (2 indoor, 1 outdoor), 2 bars, and a ballroom which can host over 700 people.
The hotel features a striking two-storey glazed cube that welcomes visitors with spacious bar and restaurant halls, seamlessly blending with the vibrant street life near Mexico Square. Petrović's design prioritizes solar exposure and weather resilience, using loggias to buffer the accommodation units. This building not only represents a pivotal moment in Addis Ababa's architectural evolution but also reflects the city's burgeoning cosmopolitan character.
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Located in downtown Addis Ababa in the busy Mexico square intersection and just minutes from the African Union, the Wabe Shebelle is a prime location in the center of the up-and-coming financial district.
Wabe Shebele Hotel
Historical Context and Ownership
The hotel was nationalized after the military coup of 1974. However, it was then returned to the Royal Family in 2011 by the Ethiopian Government.
Imperial, Ibex, Extreme and Plaza hotels came to the scene during the time of the Derg regime. With the market liberalization after 1991, many business people began showing an interest in the sector.
The Growth of the Hospitality Sector in Ethiopia
Liyualem’s optimism seems to be justified as the hospitality sector is growing rapidly. Fifty-Four major hotel projects are in the pipe line in Addis Abeba, according to the Tourism Services Competence and Accreditation Directorate at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT). With a total initial capital of over ETB 890 million, upon completion, these facilities will create jobs for more than 22 thousand Addis Abebans. In addition there are 69 more hotels being constructed in different regions of the country, according to the same source.
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There are about 475 international standard hotels in the country, out of which 110 are in the capital, according to MCT. This number is expected to increase by 50 pct by 2020. Chuan Hui International Hotel, a 58 storey building to be constructed around Meskel Square, will be the tallest building in Africa, according to local media.
Number of star-rated hotels in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2021
Addis Abeba has also hosted a diverse array of conferences with participants numbering in the tens of thousands. “Conference tourism is poised to gain greater significance due to the development of several top hotels in Addis Abeba,” said Michele Noblet, president of Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH), during his three day visit to Ethiopia this year.
“More than 90 pct of the bookings during the peak season, which runs during October through March, are made through online booking. Occupancy rate of hotels in the city during the peak season reaches more than 85 pct.
Hotels and restaurants in the country account for 2.5 pct of all permanent employment, according to Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage. In Addis Abeba, the hospitality sector accounts for 18.1 pct of all employments, states a 2011 data from Central Statistics Agency (CSA). The industry’s share of employment from the overall working population is even higher in Amhara region when compared to others.
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The facility that is built on 130 thousand sqm of area is being constructed by MIDROC Ethiopia, the giant business enterprise owned by the billionaire Mohammed Ali Al Moudi (Sheik).
Challenges and Opportunities
Yet all this bloom is not without a down side. In Addis Abeba only 6.5pct of the work force in the sector has the appropriate academic credentials above level 3, according to Addis Abeba Culture and Tourism Bureau. The industry does not seem to be supplied with sufficient amount of competent professionals.
Tiresome procedures and discouragingly long red tape in accessing land and credit is also another challenge the industry faces.
What seems to be a serious challenge to the hospitality industry in general, however, is the country’s inability to tap into its massive tourism potential. Endowed with 9 World Heritage cites registered by UNESCO, Ethiopia was visited by 523, 438 tourists in 2011, according to the information from MCT. About 20 pct of these visitors came in for a business or conference trip, rather than site seeing.
All being said, the hospitality industry can be one of the sectors that will define the future economic dynamics of the country. This vast country is endowed with many tourist wonders, yet a concerted effort must be employed to realize this huge potential and get from the sector what is long overdue.
Vintage Addis Ababa and the Nostalgia for the Past
Terefe Berlie Asmare moved to Addis Ababa in 1980 and spent much of the next decade driving. Asmare, now in his 60s, documented his road trips extensively, being one of the few people he knew with a camera - he was the lucky owner of the world’s first commercial autofocus.
Terefe’s photos - he believes has more than 1,000 from this period - might have disappeared were it not for Vintage Addis Ababa. Schütz says, referring to some of the 1,800 plus photographs they have amassed so far: “They look exactly like my parents’ family archive, of the photos of my grandparents in the 1950s.” He and Abebe were surprised by the enthusiasm with which the city’s residents accepted the idea.
Abebe thinks the project taps into a latent frustration with the way the Ethiopia has been represented over the years. The project also appeals to the occasional nostalgia some Ethiopians feel for their past, even for a period like the 1980s, a decade stained by bloodshed and economic privation under the communist regime known as the Derg.
“In Addis there was less traffic because nobody had cars - the Derg had banned imports - and on Saturday nights there would be parties in Ras hotel, in Ghion hotel, and of course here in Wabi Shebele.
Vintage Addis Ababa is part of a broader trend towards revisiting and rethinking Africa’s recent history. They chart the evolution of fashion, hairstyles, and even the city’s physical environment, making Vintage Addis Ababa a rich exercise in cultural history.
As it stands, Vintage Addis Ababa offers a glimpse into the past but only a fleeting one.
The Lombardia Restaurant Incident
After fulfilling the requirements of being a heritage, Lombardia Restaurant was registered on February 15, 2023. However, the Lombardia Restaurant, which was reportedly built in 1934 near the Wabe Shebelle Hotel, which was then under construction, was demolished for the mere reason of clearing “the spot for development”.
The Reporter said that the heritage protection officials shrugged off responsibilities saying that “the building is not a heritage”.The Reporter recalled that when Lideta Sub-City made an attempt to demolish the age-old building, the Heritage Trustee Association along with the government institutions and the heirs of the edifice took the case to the court to prevent it from being demolished.
The Director General of the Heritage Protection Authority, Abebaw Ayalew who was approached by the Reporter for further explanation said by mentioning a criteria his office has set that a building should fulfil six criteria to be named an ‘urban heritage’.
Therefore, based on the criteria, it was decided that Lombardia Restaurant does not meet the criteria to be registered as urban heritage, according to Abebaw.
As a result, though the building was registered earlier as a heritage site, it was removed from the list of the heritage site as it did not meet the requirements set recently, according to the Reporter.
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