Hyatt Hotels to double India capacity in 5 years

HYATT Hotels plans to double its number of properties in India over the next five years, as affluent residents splurge on weddings, pilgrimage and concerts. 

The Chicago-based chain, which operates 50 hotels in India, is planning to add 50 more, said Sunjae Sharma, managing director of India and south-west Asia at Hyatt. Six of those will be opened this year in cities such as Kochi in southern India and Jaipur in the north, he said.

Sharma said the rise in domestic travel after the Covid pandemic has made India the fourth-largest hospitality market, along with Mexico, trailing only China and the US. 

“Concerts like Coldplay have been packed”, and Hyatt was looking at more of such events to bring in travellers, he said. Religious travel, wellness experiences and destination weddings were the other drivers.

Hyatt signed on 21 properties last year. It is tapping into the booming tourism sector, which is expected to grow to US$131 billion by 2030. Consultancy firm EY expects the travel industry to grow as much as 15 per cent yearly, underpinned by an expanding middle-income population.

“Weddings also makes the Indian market so great for Hyatt because of the high-end spend,” said Sharma, with Indians not only spending domestically, but also flying to destinations such as Bali, Vietnam and Thailand for their nuptials.

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Indians are increasingly preferring travel over other luxury purchases, spurring hotel operators such as Taj owner Indian Hotels and Four Seasons to draw up expansion plans.

Hyatt will continue with its asset-light model, where it does not invest in building the property and instead helps owners run the hotels and also promote them. 

With road and air connectivity improving, 80 per cent of the demand in India is fuelled by local travellers seeking high-end experiences that include resorts in even lesser-known destinations, Sharma said. BLOOMBERG