Hotelivate
Get the best hospitality services from the top professionals in the hotel consulting business providing services like Professional skills development, Project execution planning, debt advisory, and revenue management for the hotel brands in India.
's Hotel Check-In: Q1 2025/26 (Apr-Jun) India Hospitality Trends 2025: Report, Data & Market Forecast. The Indian Hospitality Industry is charging down the track at full throttle. This pace of growth and acceleration over the past two years is not very different from witnessing a Grand Prix — precision engineering, high-speed manoeuvres, and the constant balance between risk and reward. The hotel industry has three key metrics: how current markets are performing, what the supply pipeline ahead looks like, and how the demand–supply balance is playing out across city tiers, segments, and brands. For 28 years, the Hotelivate Trends & Opportunities report has been the sector’s remote monitoring framework that helps hotel owners & operators analyse performance, identify overtaking opportunities, and anticipate where warning flags may appear.
In the half a decade since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian hospitality industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience and strong growth. The sharp recovery in occupancy has continued, even with supply growth in the past five years. The Rise of Mixed-Use Hotel Developments | Hotelivate Insights. As cities around the world grow and change, mixed-use developments have become an important trend in modern urban design. These spaces combine hotels, residences, retail, and office areas into one vibrant community, offering both convenience and a lifestyle experience.
While there are many examples around the world, let’s talk about a few in my favourite cities around the world. Developments like UB City in Bengaluru, District 8 in Jakarta, and Bluewaters Island in Dubai and the Langsuan area in Bangkok are perfect examples of this approach, creating self-contained hubs that bring together luxury accommodations, high-end shopping, dining, and cultural experiences, all in one place. Delving further into each of them will further highlight the growth of mixed-use developments.
From Lipstick to Lager: Odd Clues to 2025's F&B Market Shift. Hyderabad’s Growth Story: IT, Medical Tourism & Hospitality. Infrastructure and IT Growth During the COVID-19 lockdown, the Telangana Government capitalised on the pause in activity to enhance the city’s urban infrastructure, completing key projects in record time. This proactive approach has had a lasting impact on Hyderabad’s real estate market, making it more attractive for both business and investment. Hyderabad is now a global centre for IT, particularly with the development of Cyberabad and HITEC City (Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City).
The state government’s strategic policies have fostered IT growth and attracted foreign investment, which has spurred the establishment of large international firms like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Oracle, Amazon, and Facebook. Microsoft alone is expected to invest Rs. 15,000 crore (US$ 1.93 billion) over the next 15 years in Hyderabad to set up its largest Data Centre in the country. Hyderabad also accounts for approximately 20% of India’s total pharma export.
HICSA 2025: Key Highlights from the Hotel Investment Conference. Mastering 2025: Strategic Insights for Hotel GMs. Unfortunately, the hospitality industry has not implemented many game-changing ideas to stem the rot. Here’s some food for thought. Let’s say your payroll cost was 20% of your revenue (which is the industry standard in many parts of the world, as per trends observed by the Hotelivate Executive Search team). Allow for a mere 2% increase in this figure for the next five years. Task your HR team with using this additional amount to overhaul the compensation and benefits structure, including but not limited to Increase salaries, but also review headcount so that employees don’t have to work long hoursRevisit policies to make the workplace more women-friendly and inclusiveOffer better and more trainingImprove facilities like staff cafeterias and locker roomsIntroduce initiatives for better employee engagement and work-life balance Yes, for the next few years your bottom line would see a negative impact.
Hotelivate’s HCI Report: India’s Q3 2024/25 Hospitality Trends. Sports Tourism in the Middle East: Growth & Challenges. The rise in sports tourism aligns with the Middle Eastern countries’ ongoing efforts to diversify from an oil-based economy, with a strong focus on tourism as part of this transition. As demonstrated by recent sporting events, governments and sovereign wealth funds have backed these efforts with significant investment. Under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Public Investment Fund has committed over $6.3 billion since 2021 to develop sports infrastructure.
Similarly, Qatar’s urban landscape was transformed in the lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with infrastructure development integrated into the country’s National Development Strategy (2018–2022). The World Cup acted as a catalyst for the creation of transportation networks, hospitality districts, and even entire cities. These developments complement larger projects like Qiddiya City in Riyadh, which, as part of Vision 2030, will include 45 sporting facilities in its first phase.
POD Hotels: Revolutionizing Hospitality with Efficiency and Luxury. Possibility of a New Era for Hospitality Development? The POD concept minimizes construction timelines, reduces labour dependency, controls costs, and mitigates many uncertainties associated with traditional hotel development. By bringing innovation to the forefront, it offers a hassle-free, efficient, and scalable solution for hotel owners, redefining how the hospitality industry approaches development.
A single POD unit costs approximately USD 50,000. While the overall hotel would still require additional spaces like a lobby, restaurants, and other facilities—costs that would be similar for both traditional and POD hotels—the development costs can be significantly lower when PODs are used as “rooms.” Beyond cost savings, the time required to build a hotel with PODs is drastically reduced. For existing hotels, PODs offer a versatile solution for expansion. The POD concept doesn’t just change how hotels are built—it redefines what’s possible. Rethinking Hotel Sales: Are Sales Teams Still Crucial to Hospitality Success? In the ever-evolving landscape of hospitality, does Sales truly hold the key to a hotel’s success? This might sound contentious and could ruffle some feathers, but bear with us. To delve deeper, we need to first understand what drives hotel room sales. Generally, there are two scenarios: In the first, the hotel’s product, services, location, and F&B offerings are so exceptional that they essentially sell themselves, particularly when the competition is lacking.
This hotel would probably be able to just sell itself as the demand itself would be enough to fill it. The second scenario is more challenging—here, the market conditions demand an extra push, either because the hotel’s product is outdated or simply not as competitive, or because the competition is equally strong, forcing the hotel to fiercely contend for its share of the market. Traditionally, a sales team has been seen as the driving force behind filling rooms, organising events, and forging partnerships. India's Hospitality Industry Poised for Sustained Growth. Hotelivate’s latest figures reveal that India’s hospitality industry supports a formidable workforce of 2.3 million as of June 2024, translating to 0.94 employees per lodging room nationwide. Despite pandemic disruptions in 2019, when the sector sustained 2.4 million jobs, the industry remains a vital contributor to India’s employment landscape. WTTC underscores this impact, noting that India’s broader Travel & Tourism sector directly employed 37.21 million people in 2023, with hotels accounting for a substantial 6.21%.
Looking ahead, we anticipate robust growth in hospitality employment, climbing to 3.0 million by 2029 and further to 3.9 million by 2034. With unbranded hotels leading the charge due to their sheer number, despite the low employee-to-room ratio. The hospitality industry is multifaceted with various parallels other than hotels. THINC INDONESIA 2024. Youtube. THINC Indonesia Highlights: Unveiling Southeast Asia's Hospitality Potential.
However, the expansion of the Indonesian hospitality market is not without its challenges. The key challenges among these are: Environmental Degradation: The rise in tourism is putting immense pressure on Indonesia’s delicate ecosystems, making them highly vulnerable to damage. Globally, resource scarcity is becoming an increasing concern, particularly in Southeast Asia’s tourist hotspots. While many hospitality developments are adopting sustainable practices, there is a pressing need to expand these efforts as tourism continues to grow. Future properties must focus on regenerative development and adaptive resource management, with an emphasis on using recycled and biogenic materials. Preservation of Local Heritage: The rapid development of new hotels and tourist facilities is causing traditional tourist destinations in the region to lose their unique identity and cultural heritage.
The Southeast Asian market offers tremendous opportunities and potential in the hospitality sector. Key Policy Issues for Indian Hospitality: Licencing Challenges - Part 3. Key Policy Issues for the Indian Hospitality Industry: Part 2. Industry Status The purpose of recognising any sector as an industry is to promote its development via benefits such as subsided rates for electricity and water, reduction in property tax and, in some cases, industrial rates for land parcels. This also helps attract investors to the sector. Maharashtra was one of the few States in the country to award industry status to the tourism sector in 1999. Similar recognition has been given by Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, Goa, Gujarat, Assam, to name a few; however, the benefits of this ‘status’ have remained only on paper.
In our opinion, the key issue is the disconnect between designing of incentives and their implementation. Key Policy Issues for the Indian Hospitality Industry: Part 2. Policy Challenges in India's Hospitality Sector: Part 1. In the last few years, India’s tourism industry has seen significant growth and development. According to the latest World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index, India’s global rank has improved from 54 to 39. Despite India’s growing reputation as a tourist destination, the country lacks the required hospitality infrastructure to support and drive tourism demand. Sadly, key issues highlighted in whitepapers written for the Hospitality and Tourism Industry in 2001 remain relevant even today. Policy reforms, tweaks and revisions are the need of the hour to ensure that the hospitality sector grows and contributes to India’s economy, while continuing to attract investments.
Hotelivate, in collaboration with World Travel & Tourism Council – India Initiative, has published ‘Policy Reforms: A Roadmap to Boost the Indian Tourism Industry’ to highlight relevant subjects that require the attention of the Central and State Governments. Unveiling India's Hospitality Surge: Insights into Hotel Signings and Openings in 2023/24. Key Takeaways: HICSA 2024 | Asset Management, Franchising, Talent Troubles.
Resurgence of Luxury In the past, the Indian luxury hospitality market has fallen behind, with ADRs encountering a cap of US$350, in contrast to more developed markets. However, following the economic downturn, the leisure and luxury sectors have been quick to recover. This pattern is also evident in the current Indian hospitality market. As traveller preferences shift, luxury is experiencing a notable resurgence, with luxury rates increasing by over 85%. This growth in luxury rates surpasses that of upper midmarket and midmarket rates. Among Indian travellers, thematic luxury travel, particularly those centred around relaxation, wellness, and spirituality are gaining popularity. With disposable incomes increasing and consumer behaviours evolving, there is expected growth in leisure travel within the luxury segments.
India is entering an era of personalised luxury. Ras Al Khaimah: Emerging Opportunity Hub | Hotel Development Insights. Gateway to Global Access In addition to its aviation advancements, RAK is making waves in the maritime domain, having welcomed 14 luxury cruise calls in the 2023-2024 season. This figure is poised to rise to 20 by 2025/2026 and an impressive 50 by 2030-2031, underscoring the emirate’s growing prominence as a premier destination for both air and sea travellers. This improved connectivity will help in ensuring a diverse feeder market for itself instead of heavily relying on its neighbours only. RAK has also greatly increased its international connectivity by launching nonstop flights with major airlines such as Qatar Airways, IndiGo, Smart Wings, Centrum Air and SmartLynx, ensuring that it caters to different market segments. The emirate has also captivated global attention through a series of high-profile events, including the 2023 WMF Mini-football World Cup, the Exotic Wedding Planning Conference, and the Global Citizen Forum.
HICSA 2024: Unveiling Solutions - Owner Insights & Hotelivate Perspectives. Hotelivate’s Take: While the idea of creating an owner’s association is interesting and the thought behind it is fair, Hotelivate believes that creating such a body may not be entirely practical. For instance, how do organisations such as IHCL, EIH, Leela Hotels (owned by Brookfield), etc get addressed? They are both, owners and operators of brands. Excluding them from this association may not be fair and including them in it may dilute some of the intended purposes of the body. Overall, while there is merit to creating a body that voices the opinion of hotel owners, a formal association that exerts influence may be a far reach. Globally this situation is not a big issue as hotel brands typically do not own hotel assets.
Back in the day, Marriott and Marriott Host split up. While it was not because of similar issues, it did provide for two separate companies looking after their own interests. India State Ranking Survey – 2024. India’s diversity, cultural richness, and robust economy, driven by a sizable youth population, make it an appealing destination for both domestic and international strategic investments. India ranks 9th out of all G20 countries, signaling that although the travel and tourism sector is well established, ongoing developments in policy, tourist infrastructure, safety, health, technology adaptation, and environmental sustainability continue to hold potential for improvement. During the G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meet in Goa, the Prime Minister highlighted India’s commitment to tourism, emphasising the development of transport infrastructure, hospitality, skill enhancement, and streamlined visa processes.
The G20 presidency in 2023, with meetings held across 60 domestic destinations, allowed India to showcase its diverse tourism offerings globally. Untouched Lakshadweep: Is it Ready for the Proposed Tourism Surge? Untamed Wonders: An insight into India’s Wildlife Tourism Potential. Ayodhya’s Gold Rush: Hospitality Boom in the Offing. The 2023 Indian Hospitality Trends & Opportunities Report.
The 2023 Indian Hospitality Trends & Opportunities Report. Importance of Sustainable Strategies : HICSA 2023 #hospitality #hotelindustryupdates. 2023 Hotel Development Cost Survey | India. Market Snapshot: Kashmir Valley | Hotelivate. Youtube. Understanding Vacation Rental Management Companies. 5 Hospitality Consulting Services Offers by Hotelivate. HICSA 2023 Save the Dates for the 18th Hotel Investment Conference South Asia Hotelivate.
Ayodhya - The Pilgrim City. Understanding Vacation Rental Management Companies. The New Kid on the Block in the UAE’s Hospitality Landscape. Evolution of the Global Distribution System (GDS) The 2022 Indian Hospitality Trends & Opportunities Report. Youtube. Hotel Asset Management Becomes a Need - Shift in Perspective. Youtube. Youtube. Twitter. Hospitality & Hotels Jobs | Executive Search | Recruitment Services. Hotel & Hospitality | Investment Advisory | Hotelivate. Hospitality | Hotels | Asset Management | Hotelivate. Upcoming Hospitality Conferences & Events | 2022 | Hotelivate. Hotel Revenue Management Consulting | Hotel Yield Management. Hotel Revenue Management Consulting | Hotel Yield Management. About - Hotelivate | Hotel Consulting Company | Hospitality Consultants.
Youtube. Hospitality Consulting Services | Consultants for Hotel Industry.