Even as hotel companies race to add rooms amid a hospitality boom, Bharat Hotels Ltd, owner of the five-star The LaLiT Hotels, Palaces and Resorts brand, is taking a different route.
The company expects to maintain double-digit growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in FY27 and is focusing on strengthening returns from its existing portfolio while expanding through management contracts and joint development agreements in smaller cities.
Rather than pursuing an aggressive asset-buying spree, the company is focusing on sustained growth and later look to revive its initial public offering plans in the next two to three years.
Speaking exclusively to Mint, the company’s executive director, Deeksha Suri, said, “The focus right now is consolidation. Our current mix (of hotels) itself is good enough to show substantial growth. The Indian traveller is keeping the industry going.”
India’s hospitality industry is enjoying one of its strongest demand cycles in years. Room rates remain elevated, occupancies are rising and supply continues to lag demand in several markets, helping hotel operators maintain pricing power.
Asset-light push
The company’s fresh focus on management contracts and joint development agreements in smaller cities will come through its LaLiT Traveller brand, as it looks to expand its footprint without undertaking large capital-intensive projects.
The strategy marks a shift for the company, which has grown solely through owned assets. Bharat Hotels owns 12 hotels in top-tier locations, spread over large land parcels.
Management agreements have increasingly become the preferred growth model for hotel companies looking to expand rapidly without deploying significant capital.
“This is something that we have started relatively late. But we are in active conversations and hopefully should be signing sometime in the near future,” Suri said.
Alongside its asset-light strategy, Bharat Hotels continues to invest selectively in owned assets.
The company is developing a 250-room property near Ahmedabad airport, a project that has been under development since 2009-10. The hotel is now expected to be completed around the time the city hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2030.
The project will include both luxury and mid-market offerings, with Bharat Hotels planning to invest another ₹150-200 crore over the next few years through internal accruals.
IPO revival
The company had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) papers in 2018 for an initial public offering in 2019 for a ₹1,200 crore raise with the bourses but did not proceed with the issue due to turbulent market conditions and later, the pandemic.
“We’d worked very hard (on it) but due to external reasons, we then put the plans on hold. Can I give an exact timeline on the IPO plans at the moment? Not necessarily, but it is something we will be exploring in the next two to three years,” Suri said.
She added that the company’s balance sheet has strengthened considerably over the past few years, allowing it to fund expansion projects through internal accruals while pursuing selective growth opportunities.
“We still don’t have enough hotel rooms in the country. We need more hotels across all segments,” Suri said.
Bharat Hotels reported consolidated net sales of ₹906.7 crore in FY25, up 5.1% from ₹862.3 crore in FY24. Operating profit rose 5.9% to ₹384.8 crore from ₹363.4 crore a year earlier, according to Registrar of Companies data accessed through Tofler. Its FY26 financial results have not yet been audited.
Weddings, leisure lead
Suri said multiple demand drivers are supporting industry growth, including destination weddings, conferences and leisure travel. Large convention centres are also expected to boost meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) demand.
“The weddings segment is looking very promising. We have booked the highest number of weddings this financial year compared to what we have done in the past,” she said.
Properties in destinations such as Srinagar, Goa and Khajuraho are benefiting from growing demand for experiential travel as tourists increasingly venture beyond traditional destinations.
“There is a lot of curiosity among people to travel. We even have a campaign to see our country,” Suri said.
Domestic travellers now account for nearly 70% of Bharat Hotels’ business, a significant shift from the pre-pandemic period when international guests contributed a larger share.
“The Indian traveller today is willing to spend, willing to explore and willing to pay for experiences,” Suri said, adding that the pandemic fundamentally altered travel behaviour and spending patterns.
According to consultancy HVS Anarock, 42% of all new hotel openings in 2025 were in leisure destinations. The consultancy also said hotel signings touched a record 64,118 rooms across 586 properties during the year, with expansion increasingly spreading to emerging tourism destinations, supported by improving connectivity and rising domestic travel demand.
Domestic focus
Despite geopolitical tensions, including the war in West Asia, Bharat Hotels has not seen any material impact on demand.
“If anything, it may have had a positive impact because more people are choosing to travel within India," Suri said.
The company is also involved in a dispute with the New Delhi Municipal Council over dues related to its flagship Delhi property. Suri declined to comment on the matter.
