- Hyatt aims to increase its India hotels fivefold by 2030.
- It is also considering setting up a fund similar to its Japan initiative.
- It entered India with the launch of Hyatt Regency New Delhi in 1983.
HYATT HOTELS CORP. aims to increase its hotels fivefold in India by 2030, operating 55 properties and a pipeline of 92 more. The company will add five properties in India this year, increasing its portfolio by about 700 rooms.
It will bring The Standard brand to India and is open to collaborating with partners while focusing on long-term associations, according to The Economic Times.
“We have always wanted to grow with the right intent, not simply for the sake of growth,” said David Udell, Hyatt’s group president for Asia Pacific. “We consider ourselves the largest of the highly differentiated premium companies. We’re still a boutique hotel company. In luxury lifestyle, we focus on bespoke tailoring, not mass production. Around 60 to 70 percent of our portfolio in Asia Pacific falls within upper-upscale, luxury and lifestyle—and that’s where we want to play.”
Hyatt entered India with the launch of Hyatt Regency New Delhi in 1983.
Nine of Hyatt’s 26 global brands are present in India, with Destination by Hyatt set to debut in Jaipur, Rajasthan this year, The Economic Times reported. Hyatt’s 55 hotels comprise more than 10,500 rooms and include planned openings in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Lansdowne.
The company is also considering setting up a fund in India similar to its Japan initiative, where it invested alongside the Japan Cool Fund, Mitsubishi Bank and Takanaka, which built Changi Airport Terminal 2, according to The Economic Times. The Atona Impact Fund closed at about $150 million.
Udell cited Japan as an example, where Hyatt set up a fund with local companies and a Japanese partner specialising in ryokans to develop eight properties nationwide.
“We’re exploring similar collaborations to create something unique,” he said.
Udell also said Hyatt’s optimism about India is based on quality, not quantity.
“It’s about placing the right hotels in the right markets with the right owners. We also believe it’s not a zero-sum game—we can coexist with others.”
He further noted Hyatt’s openness to collaboration and local expertise.
“We recognise the talent that exists here,” he told The Economic Times. “It’s not just about doing it ourselves; it’s about creating win–win situations.”
“India is a top priority for us, and that’s why we’ve dedicated resources and appointed Vikas Chawla to lead,” Udell said. “We believe growth here comes in two forms: organic through individual hotel development and inorganic through partnerships that help us leapfrog forward.”
Hyatt recently contracted Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd. and BCV Developers Pvt. Ltd., part of the Brigade Group, for two South India properties: Grand Hyatt Chennai ECR in Chennai and Hyatt House Bengaluru Devanahalli in Bengaluru.
