IHCL Eyes Boutique Chain Acquisition to Drive Growth to 700 Properties by 2030

India's hotel growth story won't be built on mega-properties alone. Having snapped up boutique chains like Claridges and Tree of Life, IHCL is betting that small hotels in the right places can deliver big returns and faster market reach than legacy five-star sprawl ever could.

Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), the hospitality business of the Tata Group, looks to acquire boutique hotel chains as part of its effort to nearly double its hotel portfolio by 2030.

The company currently has a portfolio of 392 hotels, including 143 under development globally across 14 countries and in over 150 locations.

The company wants to grow to 700 hotels, with a total of 70,000 rooms by 2030. To meet this goal, IHCL would be investing around INR 12 billion ($142 million) each year. In the last earnings call, IHCL CEO Puneet Chhatwal said, the company has also allocated INR 250 million ($3 million) over three years to promote India abroad.

At IHCL’s 124th annual general meeting on Monday, Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran talked about acquiring boutique hotels. The shift to smaller, often locally-rooted boutique hotels helps IHCL enter markets where large properties may not be viable.

“Everywh