Accor and InterGlobe are weighing a public listing for their joint hospitality venture as the partnership accelerates toward a target of 300 hotels across India by 2030. The move, confirmed by Ranju Alex, Chief Executive Officer – South Asia at Accor, signals a fundamental shift in the group’s operating model – from pure hotel management to a hybrid platform that will own, invest in and operate assets.
The potential IPO represents a bold step for Europe’s largest hospitality group in one of the world’s fastest-growing travel markets. India’s booming domestic tourism, a rapidly expanding middle class and a highly fragmented hotel sector have created what both partners view as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to scale at pace.
Accor and InterGlobe – the travel conglomerate behind IndiGo, India’s largest airline by domestic market share – first partnered more than two decades ago. In April 2025, the companies announced a deeper alliance, consolidating their existing assets, development and management operations into a single autonomous platform. Gaurav Bhushan, co-CEO of Ennismore and a senior Accor executive, was appointed chairman of the joint venture the following month.
At that time, Accor operated 71 hotels in India with 40 in the pipeline. The ambition to quadruple that footprint to 300 properties within five years requires a dramatic shift in pace – from opening five to seven hotels annually to between 25 and 40. The partnership with InterGlobe, which brings deep local market knowledge and a workforce spanning more than 150 cities, provides the operational infrastructure to deliver on that promise.
Alex, who took the helm as South Asia CEO in August 2025, has been the driving force behind the venture’s accelerated trajectory. A three-decade hospitality veteran, she joined Accor from Marriott International, where she served as Area Vice President for South Asia, overseeing nearly 170 hotels across India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
An alumna of IHM Kolkata and gold medallist from the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, Alex began her career with The Oberoi Group in 1993, where she spent 15 years – rising to officiating General Manager at the Oberoi Grand in Kolkata. She joined Marriott in 2010 as General Manager of Courtyard by Marriott Pune Hinjewadi, before leading the Goa Marriott Resort and Spa from 2013. Successive promotions followed – Multi-Property Vice President for East India, Market Vice President for South India and Sri Lanka in 2019, and Market Vice President for West India – before her appointment to the area vice president role in 2022. Her contributions to the industry earned her the Bharat Gaurav award and the Women of the Decade in Business and Leadership award at the Women Economic Forum.
Under Alex’s leadership, 2025 proved a record year for Accor in India. The group signed close to 4,000 rooms – the highest figure in its history – and is now targeting five-digit room signings within the current year. Revenue per available room grew by approximately 12 per cent over 2024, demonstrating the resilience of the Indian market even after a brief disruption caused by India-Pakistan tensions.
The group’s luxury portfolio has expanded considerably with the openings of Fairmont Udaipur Palace – a 327-room estate set across 18 acres in the Aravali Hills – and Fairmont Mumbai, an Art Deco-inspired property that opened in April 2025 in partnership with Shrem Airport Hotels. Both have delivered strong market performance. Further Fairmont properties are in development in Agra, Shimla Fagu and Goa Shiroda, while Accor has signed an ultra-luxury Sofitel Legend property in Jaipur, a Sofitel in Rishikesh and three additional Sofitel hotels in Mumbai.
A significant milestone has been the debut of Ennismore in India through the Roswyn, a Morgans Originals hotel in Mumbai. Ennismore, formed in 2021 as a joint venture between Accor and the original Ennismore hospitality platform with Accor as the controlling shareholder, has proven successful across the United States, Europe and the Middle East. The Hoxton, one of Ennismore’s most recognised lifestyle brands, is expected to open in Bengaluru by the end of 2026. Raffles Ranthambore – the brand’s third destination in India following Raffles Udaipur and Raffles Jaipur – is also on the horizon.
Accor is simultaneously building out its food and beverage capabilities in India. The group has a dedicated team of more than 300 professionals working exclusively on F&B brands and is exploring opportunities in the standalone restaurant space – a strategic play that reflects the growing consumer appetite for high-quality dining experiences independent of hotel stays.
The potential IPO adds a capital markets dimension to a partnership already rich in strategic complexity. By shifting from pure management to asset ownership, the venture positions itself to attract institutional investment and public market capital – funds that could accelerate development beyond the 300-hotel target. Accor’s chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin has previously noted that the joint entity could pursue an initial public offering if the business requires additional capital to fuel growth.
The Accor-InterGlobe alliance also benefits from a loyalty programme partnership between ALL (Accor Live Limitless), which has surpassed 100 million members globally, and IndiGo’s BluChip programme, launched in November 2024. The cross-platform collaboration allows members to earn and redeem points across flights, hotel stays and experiences – a powerful distribution tool in a market where domestic air travel continues to expand.
Globally, Accor operates more than 5,700 hotels across over 110 countries with a portfolio spanning approximately 45 brands from economy to ultra-luxury. The India venture sits within a broader Asia-Pacific strategy where more than 60 per cent of the group’s planned openings are concentrated. With the combined Accor and Treebo portfolio – InterGlobe and Accor jointly invested in the Indian budget hotel platform to drive Ibis and Mercure brand growth – the alliance already ranks as one of India’s largest hospitality players with over 30,000 rooms.
As Alex herself has articulated, the growth strategy is not merely about scale. “Our path is very different,” she said. “We will invest and build and run hotels, and we have far more offerings than others. Our growth is about sustainable, value-led growth and not just about signing rooms.”
