Expanding third party operator United Hospitality Management has signed three further hotels in India, all under IHG brands.
The hotels will add 182 rooms to the company’s Indian portfolio and will be the Garner Corbett, Voco Kanatal, and Garner Ahmedabad. The additions take UHM’s roster in the country to 10 signed hotels, supported by a dedicated local team with the technology already in place to support further expansion. The hotels will open between 2027 and 2029.
Exploiting Economic Growth in India
These signings by UHM underline the substantial structural changes under way in the Indian economy, notes Carlos Leal, the company’s chairman: “India’s hospitality sector is entering a new phase of growth, driven by rising domestic travel, improving infrastructure and increasing investor confidence. Against this backdrop, UHM sees India as one of its most strategic growth markets.”
In common with many other third party hotel managers, UHM is focused on delivering a service for hotel owners. It remains brand agnostic, working on this occasion with IHG, but also aligning hotels with Marriott, Accor, Wyndham, Hyatt brand groups as well as individual brand companies such as Yotel. Often, UHM will sit alongside an owner, advising on the right brand to suit a specific property and local market.
In February 2026, UHM signed another Garner property with IHG, Garner Bhiwadi. The 45 room property will be delivered by Modest Structures Private Ltd, opening in 2027 and bringing the conversion brand to the National Capital region. The group also has Garner Jagdalpur in its signed pipeline, with plans to bring the Garner brand into the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, opening in early 2029.
IHG currently operates just over 50 hotels across India, having introduced six of its brands to the country. Garner is an addition to that offering and will make up a growing portion of the more than 80 hotels the company has signed into its India pipeline.
Elsewhere, UHM’s growth includes building its presence in the Middle East. Its business there includes the addition of operations at the Creekside Hotel, Dubai. There, a full refurbishment of the 292 room property is being overseen, ahead of a relaunch with the property being branded as one of Accor’s MGallery Collection properties.
Expansion in the Middle East
In 2025, the group appointed industry veteran Klaus Assmann as CEO for its business in the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia. In early 2026, with six operating hotels across the region, plus 10 more signed properties, he was ready to play his part in the group’s ambition to get to managing 100 hotels globally by 2030.
One clear demonstration of UHM’s ability to take hold of a hotel and shake it up, was its appointment to manage the voco Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers. There, the group delivered a 30% uplift in revpar in just one year, for new owner Arzan Investment Management.
