So I was at Booking.com’s How India Travels 2026 report launch last week, and this time the focus was alternative accommodations. India now has 200,000 digitally listed homes, villas, stays, whatever you want to call them, as per the report prepared with VIDEC. That’s up 26% from last year, while branded hotel rooms grew in single digits. The base is much smaller for non-hotel stays, of course, but it connects to what we’ve been hearing from hotel bosses lately.
Radisson Hotel Group CEO Federico González said only about 8-10% of India’s rooms are branded. That’s tiny. Which is why he thinks 500 hotels by 2030 is “very conservative,” his words not mine. Around 95% of their guests are Indian too.
Then Kapil Chopra of Postcard Hotels told Skift exclusively that he’s finally bringing the brand to cities. Club-first, all suites. His maths was fun, he’d rather sell 100 rooms at INR 60,000 ($628) than 300 at INR 20,000 ($210). Same revenue, way less hassle. Hard to argue with that.
Indian outbound travelers are equally sought after. Marriott’s Maldives resorts are seeing booking windows shrink from months to sometimes... the next day! Trips are shorter but more frequent, and it’s not just honeymooners anymore. It’s whole families, grandparents included, and resorts are adding Jain food and padel courts. Padel!
So yeah. We’re traveling more, last minute, in big groups, and we want things our way. Everyone’s scrambling to keep up.
Skift Global Forum
Airlines are being reordered from the outside, by the platforms, agents, and AI now rewriting how trips get discovered and booked.
This September in New York, Corneel Koster (CEO, Virgin Atlantic), Mark Galardo (Air Canada), and Delta's Scott Jordan take the stage alongside the CEOs of Booking Holdings, Expedia, and Uber, in the room where airline strategy meets the forces reshaping distribution.
SHEERID + SKIFT
A direct booking does not always create a direct relationship. See how verified identity can help airlines build more lasting loyalty.
Headlines
UK’s India Growth Plan Means Getting Travelers Out of London
by Peden Doma Bhutia
October 19, 2026
Radisson’s CEO Says Partnerships — Not Acquisitions — Will Get It to 500 Hotels in India
by Peden Doma Bhutia
October 13, 2026
Watch or Listen
The airline industry is navigating its most unpredictable period since the pandemic, with fuel prices, geopolitical tensions, premium travel demand, and aircraft shortages reshaping the competitive landscape. Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat break down the data behind the headlines, explaining why airlines remain profitable despite rising costs and unprecedented volatility.
