(Corrects paragraph 2 to say Hilton currently has 29 hotels in India, not 32, after the company clarified)
By Aishwarya Jain
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:) expects to quadruple the number of hotel rooms in its Indian pipeline over the next five years, the company’s APAC chief said, as the hotel operator looks to close the gap with its rivals amid a booming domestic travel market.
The Virginia-based company currently has 29 hotels in India, compared to InterContinental’s 45, Hyatt’s 50 and Marriott’s 150.
Hotel operators have built diverse real estate portfolios in India and invested heavily in mid-market properties that target price-conscious, middle-income consumers whose appetite for domestic travel has been high since the end of the pandemic.
On Monday, Hilton signed a licensing deal with India’s Embassy Group to open 150 of its Spark hotels in the country.
Over the past decade, Hilton has pursued a China-first policy, launching its brands in China before taking them to other Asian countries, Alan Watts, president of Hilton’s Asia Pacific (APAC) business, told Reuters on Monday.
“In the case of Spark, this is the first brand in APAC where we started as an India first launch, and I think this is just a sign of where we are currently in the markets, the potential of India and somewhat choppy China,” Watts said.
Last month, Hilton CEO Christopher Nasseta said during a post-earnings call that the company is shifting its APAC business outside of China after room revenue in the country fell 9% in the third quarter as Chinese consumers cut back on discretionary spending like travel . in light of macroeconomic challenges.
Jaideep Dang, managing director of JLL’s hotels and hospitality group, India, said a robust domestic travel industry is attracting foreign investors in the hospitality industry.
By the end of 2024, JLL expects real estate investment in the hotel sector in India to reach $413 million, an increase of 22% compared to last year.
(This story has been officially corrected to clarify that Hilton currently has 29 hotels in India, not 32, in paragraph 2)
