Hilton in reviewing Mumbai as new location for for their Waldorf Astoria brand. (Picture: Unsplash / Hadrik Joshi)

Hilton intends to add a further 3,200 rooms across 17 properties in both new and existing destinations, responding to the growing domestic and foreign tourism market in India.

Hilton is set to bring its Indian portfolio of hotels from 19 to just under 40 in the next four years, according to a recent announcement made by the group.

We take a look inside Hilton’s expansion plans on the subcontinent.

Hilton doubles down on India

Although Hilton is a household name across the globe in terms of the hospitality market, it might be surprising that the US hotel giant has a relatively small footprint in India.

With just 19 hotels currently under the group’s umbrella, totalling a key-count of around 3,100, Hilton bosses in India have announced plans to almost double the group’s stock in the subcontinent over the coming four years.

Hilton intends to add a further 3,200 rooms across 17 properties in both new and existing destinations, responding to the growing domestic and foreign tourism market in India.

“We will be almost doubling our presence in India in the next four years, with 1,300 rooms in seven hotels going to open in the next 22 months. These are going to be mainly management contracts and new franchises,” said Dhruv Hoon, Hilton India VP for development.

Hilton India pipeline

Many of Hilton’s existing properties in India are in well-trafficked cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Goa and Jaipur, but their expansion plan over the next four years will see the group landing in other locations, including Hyderabad and Varanasi.

Resort-type properties will be planned for appropriate destinations like Udaipur and Lonavala, while Hilton will be pitching their luxury brands such as the Waldorf Astoria, and high-end soft brands such as the Tapestry and Curio Collections to Delhi, Mumbai or Goa.

Hoon said that they also expect to be making a bigger splash in Tier II markets in the future. The hotels currently in the pipeline will have a larger focus on their guests’ tech experience and features such as the digital key will be pushed.