Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) and global hospitality major IHG Hotels & Resorts have signed a five-hotel portfolio agreement that will add nearly 1,500 rooms across key airport-linked urban hubs in India, marking the India debut of luxury lifestyle brand Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.

The agreement underscores the Adani Group’s broader strategy of monetising airport-led urban infrastructure through hospitality, retail and mixed-use developments, while strengthening IHG’s expansion pipeline in one of the world’s fastest-growing travel markets.

The hotels will come up across Jaipur, Navi Mumbai, Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram under multiple IHG brands, including Kimpton, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. The properties will be integrated into Adani’s upcoming airport city developments and mixed-use commercial projects.

In an unrelated development, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd and MakeMyTrip  had jointly announced that international flyers can now pre-book duty-free products online before they even reach the airport.

Airport cities emerge as new hospitality growth engines

The partnership comes at a time when India’s aviation ecosystem is witnessing rapid expansion, driven by rising domestic passenger traffic, higher disposable incomes and increasing business travel demand. Airport-led real estate and hospitality developments are increasingly becoming a key growth lever for infrastructure operators seeking diversified revenue streams.

AAHL, India’s largest private airport operator, currently manages eight airports, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport. The company is also developing airport city projects spanning around 663 acres across major aviation hubs.

Pranav Adani, director at Adani Enterprises Ltd, said the partnership aligns with the group’s vision of building integrated travel and urban ecosystems around India’s expanding aviation network.

“Our collaboration with IHG Hotels & Resorts, and the development of five hotels across key gateway destinations, marks an important step in strengthening high-quality hospitality infrastructure aligned with India’s long-term travel and economic growth,” he said.

IHG sharpens India expansion play

For IHG, the deal significantly strengthens its India pipeline while introducing Kimpton — known globally for boutique luxury hotels and chef-led dining experiences — into the domestic market.

IHG currently operates 52 hotels across six brands in India and has 98 more hotels in the pipeline over the next three to five years. Globally, the hospitality chain has more than 7,000 operational hotels and over one million rooms across 100 countries.

Sudeep Jain, managing director, South West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said airport-led developments in India are emerging as high-demand hospitality corridors catering to business, leisure and transit travellers alike.