IHG Hotels & Resorts likely to foray into branded residences in India

"You have to be strong in India to be strong outside India," said CEO Elie Maalouf on catering to India's growing number of outbound travellers alongside China

Global hospitality behemoth IHG Hotels & Resorts has identified India among its top five priority markets for the coming few years, while it also actively evaluates opportunities for branded residences projects in the country.

 

“India is an important growth engine and is catching up with other major growth avenues. If we step away from our global large markets – Europe, USA, China – and look at developing hospitality markets, India will be among the top five markets in terms of opportunity,” Elie Maalouf, chief executive officer, IHG Hotels & Resorts, told Business Standard.

 

The top executive of one of the world’s largest hotel groups having 6,800 open hotels in over 100 countries and a development pipeline of over 2,300 properties across its 21 brands, including Six Senses, Regent, Holiday Inn and more, is looking at the Indian market for a branded residences project.

 

“We have a strong and growing branded residences business, which we haven’t brought to India yet. On top of our ultra-luxury business, it is a rapidly growing business for us. It will come to India, too, and we are actively evaluating and preparing for it,” he said.

 

While India’s branded residences market remains small compared to global peers, it's becoming increasingly alive with a slew of hotel groups, automobile brands and high street luxury brands, besides the Trump Organisation looking to set up their branded residences here.

 

For the group, the Indian outbound traveller market is also becoming increasingly important to cater to, as it is among the top two outbound traveller cohort globally alongside China. Therefore, expanding IHG’s presence in the country assumes greater significance.

 

“The Indian outbound is a big market for the world and the closer we are to the Indian traveller in India, the closer we will be to them when they travel abroad. You have to be strong in India to be strong outside India,” Maalouf said.

 

The group, hence, is looking to expand its presence in the country to over 400 open and in-development hotels within the next five years, following a third consecutive year of record signings in 2025.

 

Maalouf added that the total number of hotels in India under the group umbrella could well reach 1,000 over the long term. The group’s Vignette Collection brand will debut in India this year. It is also planning to bring its luxury Kimpton brand to the country.

 

IHG owns and operates 51 hotels across six brands, including Six Senses, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn in India, with 80 more hotels under development, in total comprising around 12,000 keys. The group is expecting a record number of signings in 2026 as well.

 

“The rate of growth – of GDP, travel, the middle-class – is among the highest when it comes to large countries and we are here for generations to come,” he said, noting that the pace of growth will be exponential considering its presence in the country for more than 50 years.

 

The expansion will also lead to employment of ‘thousands’ of people with an average of one person per room, besides expansion of its centre of excellence operating from India, which will grow from 700 to 900 people, he said.

 

The top executive, who is in India this week, said that the Indian market was vastly underserved with far fewer number of hotels versus rising demand, and therefore had the capacity for more players. “It is less about competition… there’s room enough for several successful players,” he noted.

 

Maalouf, however, pointed out the need for further improving infrastructure, ease of travel and lowering the regulation and interest rates for realty and hotel construction companies, which could lead to shorter times to build hotels and greater influx of travellers that will in turn benefit the sector and the country’s economy.

 

“India has made a lot of progress on regulation, railway, road, and airport network. But there is still more work to do to further improve the ease of travel by lowering the cost of financing for real estate developers and the amount of regulations,” he added.