Investors see room for boom, quietly check into hospitality

Mumbai: India’s hospitality industry is witnessing an inflow of investment that comes with a long-term view, but without much hype. A mix of institutional investors, hotel companies, family offices and wealthy individuals quietly invested in recent months or is in the process of investing about $2 billion (more than `18,300 crore) in hotel properties across the country, according to industry executives and bankers.

The focus of investment is firmly on assets that are operational or where the property is ready to start operations, as investors prioritise early cash flows and lower execution risk in an environment marked by high construction costs, elevated interest rates and long development timelines. Development of new, or greenfield, projects, while not off the table, is being pursued selectively and only where valuation gaps clearly compensate for risk.

“With demand expected to strengthen over the next two-to three years, deal negotiations for quality assets are increasingly tilting in favour of sellers,” said a senior investment banker. More than half of the capital raised has already been deployed through transactions closed over the past six-to-eight months.

Recent acquisitions span a wide range of geographies and formats, from airport corridors and industrial towns to pilgrimage centres, leisure destinations and metro cities. Asset sizes have varied from hotels with fewer than 100 to more than 200 rooms.

High-profile deals underline this momentum. In late December 2025, global investment firm Blackstone Group acquired a 50% stake in luxury Taj Aravali Resort & Spa from the property’s owner, Mumbai-based Ishaan Group, in a transaction valued at about $100-110 million.
This January, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) acquired a controlling 51% stake in Brij Hotels for about `193-225 crore, strengthening its presence in the boutique and experiential leisure segment. IHCL also made a strategic investment in Atmantan Wellness Resort at Mulshi, Maharashtra, acquiring a controlling stake for `240 crore.
Chalet Hotels has aggressively expanded its luxury portfolio, acquiring Westin Resort & Spa in Rishikesh for `530 crore, Courtyard by Marriott Aravali Resort for `315 crore, and The Dukes Retreat in Khandala.
“Lots of institutional buying of outright acquisition is happening, as the yield is right,” said Patu Keswani, chairman and managing director of Lemon Tree Hotels, which he said is evaluating both brownfield and select greenfield projects.

Nandivardhan Jain, founder and chief executive of Noesis Capital Advisors, said, “The bulk of serious capital today is targeting existing, cash generating hotels and brownfield projects, while maintaining a highly selective watchlist for greenfield opportunities.”

In recent transactions, Noesis facilitated the acquisition of seven brownfield and operational hotels for investors in Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Manipal, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Nashik and Lonavala. These were assets that offer immediate or in near future cash flows and limited execution risk, Jain said. “At present, we are advising on investment transactions covering nearly 1,500 hotel keys, with several closures targeted over the next two to three quarters,” he added.

Jain also said hotels are structurally different from other real estate assets.