Hilton aims to double its 6,000-member team in India as it expands its portfolio with 29 hotels

Out of the 24-brands the hospitality chain operates globally, five of them are present in India including Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton.

In February, Hilton had signed a strategic licensing agreement (SLA) with NILE Hospitality to open 75 Hampton by Hilton hotels in India, joining more than 3,000 hotels trading under the brand worldwide. Watts had called it the beginning of its mid-market moment in India.

"In India, we are building a network, capturing all the different price points from Tier I cities to Tier II and III cities, to be able to serve all the various needs. For the premium economy, if you look at the demand base around the world, the number of customers in that segment, it is singularly the biggest segment in terms of customer demand," Chris Nassetta, president & CEO, Hilton, said.

To cater to the premium economy hotel demand in India, Hilton last year had announced the opening of 150 hotels under the brand name Spark by Hilton which will have a price range of Rs 4,000- Rs 6,000.

Hilton also announced its first LXR Hotels & Resorts property in India – which is slated to debut in Bengaluru in 2026. The new hotels put the company on track to triple its luxury estate in the years to come.

"We got 130 (Spark hotels) in the world. By the end of the year, we'll probably have hopefully 250 Sparks. We only launched it last year. So, it's moving at a very rapid pace," Nassetta added.

Growth in India 

Watts said that there is a strong momentum in India in the rise of the consumer class. "About 100 million people will join the consumer class over the next five years. The infrastructure of domestic travel is improving on a daily basis. The India hospitality space is exploding on the back of that infrastructure. Also, while everyone might dream or aspire to be in a Waldorf Astoria, there are only few locations with the real estate to suit a Waldorf Astoria."

Nassetta said that while India is a small market currently for Hilton in terms of the number of hotels in the country, it is where they will see the biggest growth opportunity.

"We are super focused and investing in significant ways to expand our business (in India). We have signed and announced a bunch of different deals lately, including Spark and Hampton. And we are doing more in the luxury space for Astoria, Conrad and other brands. We believe in the next five years, we will double the number of brands that we have represented in the (India) market. Over the next decade, we will increase our representation 10 fold in this (India) market or 300 plus hotels. That will bring us to hundreds of hotels. Our ambitions over the long term are for thousands of hotels," Nassetta added.

Under the luxury segment, Signia by Hilton in India will debut in Jaipur in 2028. In addition, Slohh by Roach, Curio Collection by Hilton will debut in Bengaluru this year and will be Hilton's first lifestyle hotel in India.

DoubleTree by Hilton, its largest brand in India, with 11 trading hotels sees another 12 properties under development in locations including Siliguri, Bhopal, Kochi and Chandigarh.

"Indian for us has been a hard road, harder than almost any other market on Earth. I think there were times when we did not have the right partners. There were times when we did not have the right locations and the right types of hotels that were at the level of fit and finish that we needed. I believe we're in a very different time (now). I think we have spectacular partners, spectacular locations, spectacular hotels. We are committed to the (India) market. We're not going anywhere, Nassetta said.