Wealthy travellers are demanding more personalised, culturally rich and private experiences, driving a transformation in global luxury hospitality, with new opportunities emerging in the US and India.
Global luxury hospitality is being reshaped by a simple but significant shift: wealthy travellers are no longer satisfied with elegant rooms and polished service alone. They want privacy, wellness, culture and experiences that feel hard to replicate. In the United States, that demand is meeting constrained supply in many premium markets, helping established high-end hotels protect pricing power. In India, branded hotels are pushing beyond the biggest cities, as investors and developers look for opportunities in places where recognised names can still stand out.
According to JLL’s 2026 Global Hotel Investment Outlook, global hotel investment volumes are expected to be 22% above the 2023 low, helped by stronger debt markets and renewed investor confidence. The firm also says global wealth grew at a compound annual rate of 9.6% between 2015 and 2025, while ultra-luxury hotel supply rose by only 2.3% a year. That imbalance is one reason trophy hotels and resort assets are drawing attention from capital providers.
In the US, the wider hotel market remains firm. CoStar data show June 2026 occupancy at 69.6%, with average daily rates up 6.7% year on year to $173.76 and revenue per available room rising 8.4% to $120.97. Marriott has also reported a 9.1% increase in revenue per available room in its US luxury segment in its latest quarter. San Francisco and Miami posted especially strong gains, underlining how major events and limited new supply can amplify demand in top-end markets.
India’s luxury and branded hotel story is evolving in a different way. JLL says the country attracted about $567 million in hotel investment across 28 transactions in 2025, up 67% from 2024, while the first quarter of 2026 saw about $185 million in hotel deals, 58% higher than a year earlier. The firm also says 71% of 2025 signings were in Tier II and Tier III cities, signalling that growth is moving well beyond the traditional big-city circuit.
That expansion is being reinforced by the country’s major hotel groups. Indian Hotels Company, which owns Taj, reported a 15% rise in consolidated first-quarter FY2027 revenue to ₹2,419 crore and said domestic like-for-like hotel RevPAR rose 14%. It also completed 20 hotel signings and ended the quarter with 645 hotels, including 263 in the pipeline. EIH and Bhartiya Hospitality have separately announced plans for 20 ultra-luxury lifestyle resorts across India and selected overseas locations, with early Indian projects including Coorg, Kabini and Hampi.
Wellness is also moving from a side offering to a core part of luxury positioning. Hyatt opened Miraval The Red Sea in Saudi Arabia in June 2026, the first Miraval destination outside the United States, while the company has said nearly half of travellers define luxury through highly personalised experiences. That matches a broader shift identified by JLL, Accor and design researchers at Gensler: premium guests want memorable, individualised stays that combine privacy, culture and a strong sense of place. In that environment, the best luxury hotels are no longer simply places to sleep. They are destinations in their own right.
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