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Hospitality Sector
Indian corporations are poised to become large brand owners in the US, shifting American consumers' perception about India's soft power well beyond Bollywood and IT, founder and CEO of Oyo-parent firm PRISM Ritesh Agarwal said, stressing the importance of technology, as he underlined that "India's time is now". Agarwal noted that India is the second biggest office for 'FAANG' - an acronym for five of the most prominent US technology companies: Facebook (Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. Agarwal highlighted that his company has "very aggressively" expanded its international footprint and now makes the most amount of sales globally in the United States. "We are also the single largest economy hotel brand owner here in the US, with the acquisition of Motel Six," he said. In 2024, OYO completed its USD 525 million acquisition of G6 Hospitality, the parent company of the US hospitality brand Motel 6, the largest owned-and-operated hotel chain in North America. "I feel we are go
The Ladakh administration has decided to grant industry status to hotels and guest houses registered with the tourism department in a move aimed at strengthening the hospitality sector and boosting tourism-led economic growth, officials said. Lt Governor VK Saxena on Wednesday approved the grant of 'Industry' status to registered hotels and guest houses in the Union territory, they said. The decision, which will come into effect from June 1, 2026, is expected to provide a substantial fillip to tourism establishments through incentives, concessional utility tariffs and easier access to institutional finance, they said. Officials said hotels and guest houses would now be eligible for electricity and water tariffs at industrial rates, which are lower than the commercial rates which are currently applicable to such establishments. They would also qualify for concessional bank loans under various state and central government industrial policies besides exemption from property tax, they
Hotel Association of India on Wednesday called policymakers to prioritise sector-specific reforms to drive growth and resilience in the hospitality sector, while reiterating demand for infrastructure status and allowing of industry benefits to hotels. Sharing the hospitality industry's expectations in the upcoming Union Budget, Hotel Association of India (HAI) President K B Kachru said the hotel sector should be given due recognition for its significant contribution to GDP, jobs, and foreign exchange earnings. Kachru, who is also Chairman, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, urged "policymakers to prioritise sector-specific reforms to drive growth and resilience in the hospitality sector". "The hotel sector should be given due recognition for its significant contribution to GDP, jobs, and foreign exchange earnings. The key policy interventions are according the infrastructure status and allowing industry benefits to hotels," he said in a statement. This will encourage investments in
As yet another new year dawns, India's hospitality sector is gearing up for sustained growth momentum with a clear outlook of continued expansion, readying to welcome more foreign tourists than in pre-COVID days and hoping that their long-pending demand for infrastructure status will finally be granted by the government. Ever grateful to 2025 a "year of renewed optimism" hospitality players said that in 2026, the sector will continue to be predominantly domestic demand-driven, a trend that is structural rather than cyclical, with India's robust macroeconomic environment continuing to provide a strong foundation for the industry's growth. A harmonised infrastructure status for the hotel industry could unlock significant capital inflows for the sector, as it will facilitate easier financing, longer loan tenures, and lower interest rates, enabling smoother access to capital and reducing project delays caused by financial constraints. The structural reform will also bolster India's ..