Their decision to invest in India and other emerging markets in the Asian region follows saturation in the US and other traditional markets, said leading hotel consultancy Hospitality Valuation Services (HVS) International's president and founder Stephen Rushmore.

Besides Starwood, other global brands such as Wyndom, Marriott, Hilton, Radisson and Hyatt are some of hotel companies looking at the Indian hotel market for introducing their products. "The funds are also looking at Asia as a possible investment area and India is well positioned to attract these investments," said Rushmore.

Rushmore said India, with its huge population, rising disposable incomes, a good legal framework and a stable government offered tremendous investment opportunities. The global hotel companies that have entered the local hotel market over the past few years see a big opportunity for rest of their products too, he said.

The HVS chief said most of the hotel companies would be looking at setting up their own properties or buying out existing ones than entering into management contracts only with local partners. "The companies would be making investments with an eye to secure some management control eventually", he said.

Rushmore said the hotel industry in India may witness more mergers, acquisitions and consolidations to reap the benefits of increasing tourist arrivals in the next two-three years.

Rushmore said the time-share industry in India is expected to see some reversal in its fortune within the next two years. "A couple of major companies, including a foreign company, could take a share in the timeshare industry within this period", he said.

The HVS chief attributed the downturn in the time-share industry--which is popular abroad--to some of the time-share developers as well as sellers being dishonest. "The time-share industry in India possesses good opportunities but lacks proper brands", said Rushmore. He cited the example of the US time-share industry which bounced back from its bottom in the 1980s, due to entry of leading brand names and regulation within the industry.

Rushmore said the hotel industry in India is expected to witness the emergence of the budget and mid-market hotels in the near future. There are several possibilities for conversion of hotels into mid-market hotels to cater to the growing middle class travellers, he said.

Rushmore said "some fine tuning" was required to make India more attractive as an investment destination.