Hotel ownership company Samhi Hotels Ltd, which operates hotels under multiple brands such as Marriott International and IHG, aims to more than double its topline to ₹3,000 crore over the next few years.
The hotel owner has expanded its portfolio across key Indian cities and is now making a strategic investment in the boutique hospitality platform Rare India, its chairman and managing director, Ashish Jakhanwala, said, speaking exclusively to Mint. Rare curates and promotes experiential, boutique, and owner-led hotels across the Indian subcontinent.
Samhi‘s chairperson said will its next phase of growth will come from a mix of new inventory in markets such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru, as well as steady growth at existing properties. “We are gunning for at least a ₹3,000 crore topline from our current ₹1,200 crore,” Jakhanwala said. “That’s largely on account of the new inventory that we will add in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, among others. We will continue to hope for 9-10% same-store growth as the inventory comes into play.”
Key Takeaways
- Samhi targets ₹3,000 crore revenue by doubling inventory in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
- The FY25 profit of ₹85.5 crore marks a successful recovery from previous losses.
- The revenue mix will shift to 65% upscale following new hotel openings in the near future.
- Rare India acquisition provides a low-risk entry into high-margin boutique leisure.
- Marriott Bonvoy integration will scale Rare India’s independent, high-value boutique hotel network.
Samhi owns a diversified portfolio across different hotel segments. Its portfolio currently includes about 7,500 rooms, with 2,000 in the mid-scale category, roughly another 2,000 in the upper mid-scale segment, and around 2,400 in upscale and upper upscale hotels (5-star hotels). The mid-scale category typically corresponds to 3-star hotels that offer essential services and moderate pricing. Upper mid-scale hotels usually fall in the four-star bracket, offering larger rooms, better amenities and stronger brand positioning.
Expansion after profit pivot
At present, about 45% of Samhi’s revenues come from upscale properties, while the remaining 55% come from the broader mid-scale category, which includes brands such as Holiday Inn Express and Fairfield by Marriott. That mix will tilt further towards upscale hotels as new properties open. “When our W and Westin hotels open, this will shift to upscale being 65% and mid-scale being close to 35%,” Jakhanwala said.
Samhi’s expansion plans come after a sharp improvement in its financial performance. In FY25, the company reported a profit after tax of ₹85.5 crore, compared with a net loss of ₹338.6 crore in FY24. The improvement reflects stronger hotel demand, improved occupancy and better operating performance across its portfolio.
Jakhanwala said domestic travel demand has remained resilient despite periodic disruptions such as monsoon-related travel interruptions or airline operational issues. “Domestic demand is extremely strong,” he said. “Even with all of these disruptions, the worst quarter we had was about 9-10% year-on-year growth in same-store revenues.” That performance broadly aligns with Samhi’s long-term guidance of 9-11% same-store growth.
Its bet on Rare India, the platform that represents independent experiential hotels, will be a larger play with Marriott’s distribution platform, Bonvoy marketing these hotels on its own platform. Samhi has acquired a 70% stake in Rare India with a total investment of roughly ₹45 crore, including about ₹30 crore upfront. The company’s founder, Shoba Mohan, will retain the remaining stake.
Hotels in neighbouring countries
“Rare is a 23-year-old company with about 70 hotels across 15 states, Nepal and Bhutan, and the quality of the properties is truly rare,” he added. Rare’s network includes roughly 1,000 rooms across boutique properties located in destinations ranging from wildlife reserves and mountain retreats to heritage locations. Samhi plans to transform Rare from a representation platform into a broader brand and distribution platform for independent boutique hotels.
Rare will sign an affiliation agreement with Marriott International, granting it exclusive rights in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan to onboard properties to Marriott’s Outdoor-Collection on its loyalty platform. Many of the hotels represented by Rare already command premium room rates, with around 60% selling at more than ₹25,000 a night.
He said Samhi’s investment in this company is also intended to help it understand the rapidly growing leisure hospitality segment before committing large amounts of capital to building resorts. The company has historically focused on city hotels catering largely to business travellers.
“We were not convinced about investing in big-box leisure hotels,” Jakhanwala said, noting that demand in leisure destinations can fluctuate quickly depending on travel trends. Instead, the company prefers smaller, experience-led properties that focus on unique locations and curated stays. “There is a complete shift globally where smaller experience-led hotels are breaking price barriers,” he said.
Looking to learn
The Rare platform will allow Samhi to observe customer behaviour, pricing patterns and operating dynamics across boutique leisure properties, he added. On these lines in 2023, hotel major Hyatt announced that it had acquired travel platform Mr & Mrs Smith for £53 million to boost its luxury leisure portfolio, adding over 1,500 boutique hotels and a loyalty network.
Ratings agency Icra expects India’s premium hotels to maintain strong performance in FY2026, with occupancy at 72-74%, average room rates rising to ₹8,200-8,500 and operating margins at 34-36%, as demand continues to outpace supply.