Adani Group Expands Ambitious Hospitality Ventures with Major Hotel Projects

Gautam Adani’s conglomerate is preparing to make a big-bang entry into India’s hospitality sector, with plans to build what it says will be one of the country’s largest hotel portfolios. The move marks a strategic shift in how the group plans to monetise its infrastructure assets and positions it against established hotel majors such as the Tata Group’s Taj, ITC Hotels, and the Oberoi chain.

The Adani Group plans to develop more than 60 hotels across India, primarily linked to airports it operates and large real estate projects it controls. The hotels will largely be developed in-house, with one notable exception: the Sahara Star hotel near Mumbai airport’s Terminal 1. According to Jeet Adani, director at Adani Group, the portfolio’s size alone would place it among the largest in the country.

At the centre of this hospitality push is Navi Mumbai, where the group is developing a new international airport and large tracts of surrounding real estate. About 15 hotels are planned in Navi Mumbai alone, highlighting the scale of the ambition and the group’s confidence in future demand for business travel, events, and leisure stays in the region.

Rather than running hotels under its own brand, the Adani Group plans to tie up with international hotel operators to manage these properties. This approach allows the group to focus on asset development while relying on global hospitality brands for operations, distribution, and customer loyalty.

The hospitality expansion is not a standalone bet. It is part of a broader plan to transform Adani-operated airports into multi-use urban hubs, with retail, food and beverage outlets, convention centres, and entertainment venues built alongside passenger terminals. This “city-side” development is intended to reduce reliance on aeronautical revenues, such as landing and parking fees paid by airlines.

Currently, aeronautical income accounts for nearly half of airport revenues. The group expects this share to fall sharply, to around 10%, as non-aeronautical businesses such as hotels, lounges, retail, and events grow in importance. In effect, airports are being repositioned as commercial districts rather than transport-only facilities.

Large convention and events infrastructure is a key part of this strategy. In Mumbai, the group plans to develop a major convention centre. In Navi Mumbai, a smaller arena with a capacity of 25,000 seats is on the drawing board. These facilities are designed to attract exhibitions, corporate events, and large gatherings that generate steady demand for nearby hotels, restaurants, and transport services.

The strategy mirrors a global trend in airport-led urban development, where airports function as economic anchors for entire districts. In India, Reliance Industries’ Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, which opened in 2022, has already demonstrated the potential of large, integrated event spaces. Adani’s plans suggest it wants to build similar ecosystems, but directly connected to airports.

Acquisitions are also part of the group’s hospitality roadmap. The Adani Group has expressed interest in acquiring 88 assets of the Sahara Group, including the Sahara Star hotel in Mumbai, a prominent property near the airport. Separately, the group has secured creditors’ approval to acquire assets of the Jaypee Group, which include five hotels in northern India. These deals would allow Adani to scale up quickly by absorbing existing properties into its portfolio.

Despite the size of the hotel business that is being envisioned, the group does not plan to spin it off into a separate company. Real estate assets will continue to sit with Adani Realty and Adani Properties, while airport-linked developments will remain within the airport business. To ensure coordination, a common management team has been created to maximise value across both verticals.