CHENNAI: The Adani Group is preparing a large-scale entry into the hospitality sector, signalling a strategic expansion beyond its core infrastructure, energy and transport businesses. The conglomerate is understood to be planning a significant investment-led push to build one of India’s largest hotel portfolios, leveraging its control over airports, real estate assets and urban infrastructure projects to create an integrated hospitality ecosystem.
According to reports, the group is looking at developing and owning dozens of hotels across key locations, with a strong emphasis on airport-linked properties, large mixed-use developments and emerging urban centres. Rather than operating hotels itself, the group is expected to follow an asset-heavy, operator-light model, tying up with established global and domestic hospitality brands to manage the properties while Adani retains ownership of the underlying assets. This approach mirrors its broader strategy across airports and logistics, where infrastructure ownership is combined with specialist operating partnerships.
The group’s first major hospitality project is likely to come up in Navi Mumbai, where it has developed and is operating a new international airport, the reports said citing unnamed sources.
According to industry analysts, who pointed to a strong likelihood of such a strategic approach in response to queries from The New Indian Express, the hospitality push is closely aligned with the group’s expanding presence in India’s aviation sector.
Adani Airports already operates several major airports and is actively evaluating further opportunities as the government continues its privatisation programme.
"By embedding hotels, convention centres, retail and entertainment zones within airport precincts, the group aims to transform these assets into high-yield urban hubs rather than relying primarily on aeronautical revenues. Non-aeronautical income streams, including hospitality, will play an increasingly important role in improving the profitability and resilience of airport assets," they say.
In addition to greenfield hotel development, the Adani Group is also exploring acquisitions of existing hospitality assets that could offer immediate scale. Interest has been shown in select stressed or strategically located hotel properties, particularly those near airports or in major metros, where demand from business travellers, events and transit passengers remains strong. Such acquisitions would allow the group to fast-track its presence in the sector while broader development plans take shape.
The timing of the foray comes as India’s travel and tourism industry continues to see sustained growth, driven by rising domestic travel, increased business activity and improving international connectivity. Industry executives note that airport-centric hotels, large-format convention facilities and premium business hotels are likely to see strong demand over the medium term, making them attractive long-term infrastructure-like assets.
For the Adani Group, the hospitality bet represents a strategic diversification that fits into its broader vision of building integrated platforms across transport, logistics, real estate and consumer-facing services. By linking hotels to airports, ports and large urban developments, the group is seeking to capture value across the entire travel and mobility chain, from arrival and transit to accommodation and events.
While detailed investment numbers and timelines are yet to be formally announced, the scale and ambition of the plans underline the group’s intent to emerge as a serious long-term player in India’s hospitality landscape. If executed as envisioned, the move could significantly reshape competition in the sector, placing Adani alongside established Indian hotel chains and global operators, while further deepening its footprint in the country’s infrastructure-driven growth story, the reports said.
