India is fast emerging as a key growth market for Marriott International, joining the ranks of China, where the company operates about 700 properties, while the US remains its centre of gravity, with more than 6,000 hotels.
The world's largest hotel company's top line in India crossed $1.5 billion in 2025, up from $1 billion in 2023, David Marriott, the third-generation hotelier and chairman of the board of Marriott International Inc., told Mint.
He said India is on track to become Marriott International's third-largest market globally and is expected to overtake Mexico as the company opened its 10,000th property worldwide—a JW Marriott in Rajasthan's Ranthambore on Wednesday.
“India is already an incredibly important market for us. I anticipate sometime in the very near future that it will surpass Mexico and become our third-largest market globally,” he said about the nearly century-old company.
India's travel economy
The shift underscores the rapid expansion of India's travel economy, fuelled by rising domestic demand, growing incomes and infrastructure development. For Marriott, markets such as India are becoming increasingly important as they continue to deliver momentum despite geopolitical uncertainty and changing travel patterns.
The American hotel major currently operates more than 221 hotels across India and has about 180 properties under development.
It has expanded aggressively over the past few years as demand for both business and leisure travel continued to outpace supply in many parts of the country. “When you look at it from a revenue point of view, India continues to deliver double-digit growth both on the RevPAR (revenue per available room) side as well as net unit growth,” added Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International.
When compared to the US, it may look small, but from a percentage-growth perspective, it is a very strong market, he added.
Industry experts said the company has very strong owner relations, which are driving rapid growth. “Relationships with hotel owners have strengthened considerably, and Marriott's performance across segments, from luxury to mid-market, has reinforced confidence in the brand,” said Romesh Koul, chief executive of hospitality consultancy Naaz Hotel Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Naaz works with a number of hotel companies, including Marriott.
"Today, many developers looking to enter the hospitality sector view Marriott as a benchmark, given its strong operating performance and ability to drive returns," Koul added.
Meanwhile, the West Asia war has disrupted travel routes, and economic uncertainty continues to weigh on consumer sentiment in some markets. International travel flows have also become increasingly volatile.
“We'd like to see it resolved as quickly as we can get there because it helps the world return to a more normal place and helps people feel confident travelling,” Marriott said.
But India has remained relatively insulated from those pressures. This is because domestic travellers now account for roughly 70% of its local business, a reversal from a decade ago, when international guests accounted for a much larger share of demand.
“People are not saying they're not going to travel. They're just shifting to destinations where they feel more comfortable and safe. The wealth creation the country is experiencing comes with aspirations to travel and experience brands. Today, Indian consumers have the ability to travel more frequently and spend more on travel,” Menon added.
That shift has helped it sustain room rates and occupancy levels even as hotel companies race to add capacity. Over the past three years, nearly every major operator has announced aggressive expansion plans, betting that India's hospitality market remains significantly underpenetrated relative to its population and economic growth.
The country is likely to have over 300,000 organized hotel rooms by 2030, growing over the existing 200,000, according to consultancies.
Deeper penetration
For Marriott, the opportunity extends beyond luxury hotels. While it manages brands such as JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, W Hotels and Edition, among others, it accelerated expansion in the mid-scale segment through brands such as India-first Series by Marriott, City Express and Four Points Flex, in other countries, reflecting its strategy of growing across price points rather than relying solely on luxury travel.
In 2025, it acquired a stake in The Fern Hotels & Resorts to launch Series by Marriott in the country, giving it a foothold in smaller cities and emerging markets where branded hotel supply remains limited. “It was really about getting into markets that were third- and fourth-tier cities, where it would have taken us a long time to get scale,” Menon said.
Since signing the partnership, Marriott has already converted more than 50 hotels under the arrangement and expects that figure to reach 100 by the end of this year.
The company's confidence in India is also tied to the country's rapidly improving infrastructure. New highways, airports and rail connectivity are making destinations more accessible and encouraging travel beyond traditional metropolitan hubs, Menon said.
The company's next phase of growth, as it deepens its presence across Asia, will be to expand globally, with some of the strongest long-term opportunities coming from markets where travel demand is being driven by a growing middle class rather than inbound tourism alone.
For now, India sits firmly in that category. “Asia Pacific remains a decades-long growth story. And India is very much at the centre of that,” added Menon.
