Hyatt Hotels, the hospitality company in Chicago, plans to create more than 30,000 jobs in India over the next five years and to grow its India portfolio to more than 250 hotels by 2030, according to a report by the Free Press Journal that draws on a CNBC-TV18 interview. Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt’s chairman, president and chief executive, described the hiring figure as a minimum.
The Hyatt Regency hotel in New Delhi, in northern India. Photo: AJ12119, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
[GUNJAN’S LINE: your view on what the hotel industry’s hiring plans mean for American companies that need local talent in India]
A pipeline larger than the portfolio
According to the report, Hyatt’s signed pipeline of India hotels is more than twice its current operating portfolio in the country, and new signings reached a record this year. Hoplamazian said multi-property portfolio deals could speed up growth. Hyatt will keep its premium positioning. The company is open to acquisitions in India but has not completed any. It holds a significant stake in the hotel company Juniper Hotels, which it formed jointly with its investment partner, the Saraf Group.
The target builds on a goal Hoplamazian set last February. A Reuters report from the HOPE hospitality conference in Goa, in western India, said Hyatt expected to have five times as many hotels in India within five years. The company had previously aimed for 100 India properties by 2030. “India is a place to invest, it’s a long-term bet,” Hoplamazian said then. Hyatt operates more than 1,400 hotels worldwide.
Demand behind the plan
Hoplamazian pointed to domestic travel. India recorded more than four billion domestic visits over the past year, and younger travelers increasingly prefer frequent, shorter holidays. He said India receives fewer than ten million international tourists, and called the government’s target of 100 million international visitors by 2047 achievable. The Reuters report cited Mordor Intelligence, which projects India’s hospitality industry will grow from $23.5 billion in 2025 to $55.7 billion by 2031.
NewsBytes reported that the expansion includes hotels for spiritual tourism, such as an upcoming property in Puri, in eastern India.
