Sudeep Jain leads one of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ most dynamic growth regions, providing strategic and operational leadership across hotel operations, commercial performance, owner relations, talent strategy and long-term market expansion. In an interview with FE, Jain speaks about the Indian market, growth of airport-led hospitality, changing consumer preferences, and more. Edited excerpts:
India has become a major focus for IHG. What is driving this expansion?
India is one of IHG’s fastest-growing markets globally, with the opportunity becoming larger over the past five years. Strong economic growth, record domestic travel, improved aviation connectivity and government-led infrastructure investment are creating sustained demand for quality branded hotels. Demand is also more diverse. Growth, once concentrated in gateway cities, now extends to commercial centres, leisure destinations, spiritual-tourism hubs and airport-led developments. This allows us to expand across segments using different brands from our portfolio.
IHG has grown from 15 hotels in India in 2013 to 57 today, with more than 100 properties in the pipeline. Our ambition is to have over 400 open and pipeline hotels in the country within five years. We have introduced new brands such as Garner, announced the debut of Vignette Collection, and through our partnership with Adani Airport Holdings, will introduce Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to India. India will, therefore, be among IHG’s most important growth markets, offering opportunities from luxury and lifestyle to premium and essentials.
The partnership with Adani Airport Holdings will add over 1,500 keys across airport locations. What makes airport-led hospitality an attractive opportunity, and how do you see demand evolving in this segment?
Airports are evolving from transit points into integrated business, retail and lifestyle destinations. As India’s aviation sector expands and new airports emerge, demand for branded accommodation around these ecosystems will grow. Our partnership with Adani Airport Holdings will add more than 1,500 rooms across five hotels at key airport locations. These properties will serve transit passengers, business travellers, airline crews, meetings and events, and the commercial communities developing around airports. The partnership will also introduce Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to India.
Why is this the right time to bring Kimpton to the country?
India’s luxury traveller has evolved. Luxury is no longer defined only by opulence or a conventional five-star experience. Guests increasingly seek distinctive design, memorable food and beverage, personalised service and an authentic connection with the destination.
Kimpton is built around these attributes, with design-led hotels, lively restaurants and bars, and experiences rooted in local culture. It complements our existing luxury portfolio: InterContinental represents timeless luxury, Six Senses focuses on wellness and sustainability, while Kimpton offers lifestyle-led luxury for affluent domestic and international travellers. We believe this is the right time to introduce Kimpton to India as the market continues to mature and travellers increasingly seek differentiated luxury experiences over conventional offerings.
How have consumer preferences in India changed since the pandemic, and what opportunities does this create for InterContinental, Kimpton and Vignette Collection?
Luxury travel has become increasingly experience-led. Travellers now seek personalised service, wellness programmes, culinary journeys and destinations with a strong local identity. We are also witnessing growth in destination weddings, longer leisure breaks and multigenerational holidays.
These trends create opportunities across our luxury and lifestyle portfolio. InterContinental continues to appeal to global luxury travellers, while Kimpton offers a design-led, lifestyle-focused proposition. Vignette Collection enables us to partner with distinctive independent hotels that wish to retain their individual character. Together, these brands allow us to address different travel occasions and evolving interpretations of luxury.
Which cities and regions are emerging as growth markets beyond the established metros? Are tier-II and III cities becoming viable for luxury and upscale hotels?
Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad remain important to our strategy. However, we see considerable potential in secondary commercial centres, leisure destinations and spiritual-tourism hubs.
Jaipur, Panchkula, Amritsar, Ayodhya, Ujjain, Siliguri and Kathua are benefiting from improved infrastructure, stronger regional connectivity and growing demand for branded accommodation. Luxury opportunities are emerging in destinations attracting high-value leisure travel, while our premium and mainstream brands are expanding across developing commercial centres.
Our approach is to match each market with the most appropriate brand, based on local demand. A portfolio of 21 brands gives us the flexibility to serve different traveller segments while creating long-term value for owners.
Several global hotel chains are expanding aggressively in India. What differentiates IHG’s strategy?
Our focus is on balanced, sustainable growth supported by strong owner partnerships and a portfolio spanning luxury, premium and essentials.
Beyond our brands, owners benefit from our commercial systems, revenue-management capabilities, technology platforms and IHG One Rewards, which has more than 160 million members worldwide. These capabilities help improve hotel performance and generate enduring value.
As we expand, our priority is to place the right brand in the right location with the right owner, rather than pursue scale for its own sake.
Asset-light expansion is the preferred model for global hospitality companies. Will IHG continue to rely primarily on management contracts and franchise agreements, or do you foresee any changes in your approach?
Our asset-light model will remain central to our India strategy. It enables us to expand efficiently while giving owners access to IHG’s brands, commercial platform and operational expertise.
Management and franchise agreements will continue to be the main growth drivers. We also see increasing opportunities for conversions as owners seek to reposition existing hotels under trusted international brands. Garner’s introduction in India reflects this trend and broadens the solutions we can offer across asset types and market segments.
How is IHG using AI and digital technology to improve guest experience and hotel performance?
Technology helps simplify the guest journey while strengthening commercial performance. IHG One Rewards has over 160 million members globally and more than 83% of room revenue is now booked through IHG-managed channels.
We have modernised our guest reservation system to offer a more personalised booking experience, including room-attribute selection and tailored offers. Our AI-powered revenue management system has been deployed across more than 6,800 eligible hotels, helping properties optimise pricing and respond faster to changing demand. We are also expanding our cloud-based property-management system to improve operational efficiency and accelerate innovation.
AI will continue to transform hospitality, but our objective is to use it to support better decisions, personalise stays and empower hotel teams — while keeping human hospitality at the heart of the guest experience.