InterContinental Hotels Group to Enter Indian Market with Launch of Kimpton Brand at Jaipur Hotel through Adani Airports Partnership

IHG Hotels & Resorts Signs Major Agreement to Develop 1,500 Hotel Rooms in India

In a significant development in the hospitality sector, IHG Hotels & Resorts, the company behind brands such as Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental, and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, has signed a partnership with Adani Airport Holdings to develop about 1,500 hotel rooms across five properties in India. This agreement marks the entry of IHG's luxury lifestyle brand Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants into the Indian market for the first time, with a hotel set to be developed in Jaipur.

The partnership will also see the launch of Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in Navi Mumbai, Mangaluru, and Thiruvananthapuram. This move reflects growing confidence in lifestyle hospitality brands in the country, particularly among younger affluent travelers and premium domestic tourists. Globally, Kimpton is known for its design-led boutique hotels, destination dining, and experience-focused stays.

The partnership with Adani Airport Holdings reflects the significant scale of opportunity that IHG sees in India's hospitality sector, particularly in gateway cities and airport-led developments that are witnessing strong demand from business, leisure, and transit travelers. IHG's managing director for South West Asia, Sudeep Jain, stated that the company continues to see strong demand from travelers in India's gateway cities and airport-led developments.

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IHG's portfolio will help strengthen its presence across high-growth markets in the country. In March, the company signed an agreement to convert Eros Hotel in Delhi's Nehru Place to an InterContinental hotel. This development is part of IHG's vision to create world-class destinations that seamlessly integrate travel, stay, and urban experiences around India's rapidly growing aviation ecosystem.

The partnership between IHG and Adani Airport Holdings reflects a broader shift in India's hospitality market, where hotel companies are aligning expansion plans with large infrastructure and transit projects. Airport corridors are emerging as attractive hotel markets as airlines add capacity, passenger traffic rises, and commercial activity builds up around aviation hubs. Other global hotel operators such as Marriott International, Hilton, and Accor have also sharpened their focus on airport-led developments and mixed-use urban projects.

Hospitality consultancy HVS Anarock estimates that India's hotel market will grow to 350,000 rooms by FY30, driven by strong formalization of the sector. Domestic travel demand remains strong, with average room rates and occupancy levels staying above pre-pandemic levels across several markets. The partnership between IHG and Adani Airport Holdings is expected to strengthen IHG's India expansion pipeline as international hotel chains accelerate growth in both premium and mid-market segments.

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Adani Airport Holdings, a private airport operator, has been expanding its airport city strategy through hospitality, retail, and commercial real estate projects linked to aviation infrastructure to monetize land surrounding airports beyond core aviation operations.