4,830 Premium, Upscale Hotel Rooms Added in India in 2024: SKYE Study

New Delhi, May 23, 2025: The hospitality and tourism sector will continue to move forward in a positive direction this year underpinned by rise in domestic, international and business travel.

In addition, proliferation in transit-oriented tourism, destination weddings and religious events is further dovetailing the industry.

Per the latest study by SKYE Hospitality, 4,830 new rooms entered in 2024 across the premium and upscale segments. Out of this, 2,706 units entered the market place in the first half, followed by 2124 units in H2 2025.

The split is nearly equal in the premium and upscale segments—52 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively.

Most of the major hospitality brands, such as IHCL, Accor, Marriott, ITC, ROHL, Leela and Wyndham have added new projects. A total of 41 new projects have been unveiled. Not all are greenfield as the unavailability of land, especially in metros, makes fresh projects cumbersome. As an alternative, many brands are using rebranding and strategic partnerships to launch new projects.

During the same period, a cumulative volume of 396,000 sq ft of meeting and banquet space (hotel-centric) entered the marketplace, the SKYE report further showed.

“The hospitality sector looks resilient for 2025 with an expected 10-15 per cent rise in occupancy in major hospitality business chains,” said Ankit Kansal, MD, SKYE Hospitality.

“Meanwhile, the growth won’t be just about the numbers but also the depth of offerings. Indian travellers are evolving with more focus on authentic stays and customised experiences that can match individual tastes. This means hotels will have to recalibrate services, relook positioning and be open towards more customisation.”

Per the report, 31 per cent of the new supplies are in north India, closely followed by the west with 28 per cent. East and south accounted for 23 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.

About the future of hospitality, the report offered valuable inputs on other emergent categories of tourism such as wellness, medical tourism and religious tourism.

“The traditional boundaries between wellness, vacation and tourism are blurring. Urban households increasingly want to take frequent/extended breaks to rejuvenate mind and body, detoxify and enrol for mindfulness and yoga retreats,” said Taran Chabra, Director, SKYE Hospitality.

“As lifestyle-related diseases are proliferating, people now want to heal the root cause rather than quick fixes. This is unfolding new opportunities in the wellness tourism value chain.”

The medical tourism market is set to reach $13 billion in 2025 from $1.8 billion in 2015, growing at a CAGR of 21.9 per cent. Annually, two million patients come to India from around 80 countries all over the world. This will unlock opportunities for new hotels, resorts and service apartments, especially in the city centre, near major hospitals and healthcare centres.

“In the coming time, Indian hospitality will continue to grow fast at a sustained pace. Growth will be visible in both mainstay tourism as well as other alternate forms. The former will be the dominant market force. Yet we will see the latter ramping up in the form of boutique resorts, private villas with bespoke services, branded homes, nature resorts, etc.,” Kansal added.