IHG to bring Kimpton to India through Adani Airports partnership with Jaipur hotel
IHG Hotels & Resorts, the company that operates Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental and other brands, said it has signed a deal with Adani Airport Holdings to develop approximately 1,500 hotel rooms across five properties in India, in one of the larger hospitality-focused airport city deals recently announced.
The deal will bring IHG’s luxury lifestyle brand, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, to India through a Jaipur hotel for the first time. The partnership will include Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in Navi Mumbai, Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram, the companies announced on Thursday.
Kimpton’s India launch signals growing confidence in lifestyle hospitality brands in the country. The brand is known worldwide for design-driven boutique hotels, destination dining and experience-focused accommodations; these segments are gaining traction among young affluent travelers and premium domestic tourists.
Sudeep Jain, Managing Director, South West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “The partnership with Adani Airport Holdings reflects the scale of opportunities we continue to see in India’s hospitality sector, particularly in gateway cities and airport-led developments that are witnessing strong demand from business, leisure and public transport travellers.”
Portfolio will help strengthen IHGs Presence in fast-growing markets in the country. In March, the company signed a deal to convert the Eros Hotel in Delhi’s Nehru Place into an InterContinental hotel.
Pranav Adani, director, Adani Enterprises Ltd, said: “Our vision is to create world-class destinations that seamlessly integrate travel, accommodation and urban experiences around India’s rapidly growing aviation ecosystem.” “The development of five hotels in key gateway destinations marks an important step in strengthening high-quality accommodation infrastructure aligned with India’s long-term travel and economic growth,” he said.
China potential
Mint reported in January He said IHG Hotels & Resorts aims to increase its footprint by more than 50% on an annual basis over the next four years and reach 400 operational and in-stage hotels by 2030. During a visit to New Delhi earlier this year, Chief Executive Elie Maalouf said India was significantly under-penetrated for its economic potential and compared the market’s long-term opportunities to China, where IHG operates more than 800 hotels.
The company has since sought to diversify beyond its dominant Holiday Inn portfolio in India by introducing newer premium, lifestyle and luxury brands, accelerating growth through asset light management and franchise models.
The IHG-Adani deal reflects a broader shift in the Indian hospitality market, where hotel companies are aligning their expansion plans with major infrastructure and public transport projects. Airport corridors are emerging as attractive hotel markets as airlines add capacity, passenger traffic increases, and commercial activity increases around aviation hubs.
Airport developments
Other global hotel operators are also focusing more on airport-led developments and mixed-use urban projects. Marriott International, Hilton and Accor have expanded their airport and public transport-connected hotel portfolios in major cities in India, targeting the demands of business travellers, airline crews, conferences and short-stay transit passengers.
In Delhi’s Aerocity, Chalet Hotels In 2023, it signed an agreement with IHCL’s Taj Hotels to operate the 400-room luxury hotel and convention center project at the airport.
Hospitality consultancy HVS Anarock estimates India’s hotel market to grow to 350,000 rooms by FY30, driven by strong formalization in the sector. He noted that domestic travel demand remains strong and average room rates and occupancy levels remain above pre-pandemic levels in many markets. There has been a sharp increase in hotel deals in the last two years, led by growth corridors focused on entertainment destinations, religious tourism and infrastructure.
For IHG, this partnership strengthens its expansion pipeline in India as international hotel chains accelerate growth in both premium and mid-market segments. The company has 52 hotels across six brands in India, with 98 hotels expected to open in the next three to five years.
Adani Airport Holdings, a private airport operator, is expanding its airport city strategy through hospitality, retail and commercial real estate projects linked to aviation infrastructure to monetise land surrounding airports beyond core aviation operations.
