New Delhi/Mumbai, Sept. 7 -- Royal Orchid Hotels is doubling down on what president Arjun Baljee calls an "asset-right" model of expansion, flexible leases, management contracts and franchising, while sharpening its brand promise to ride India's domestic travel boom.

The company currently operates 7,167 keys across 118 hotels with another 2,500-plus rooms under development, and plans to add about 230 hotels over the next five years, taking the portfolio to 22,000 keys by FY30.

Baljee is clear about how he wants the group to be perceived. "We won't be India's Marriott. India's Marriott is Taj," he told Mint. "We're building a distinctly Indian portfolio, with Indian roots and values, present wherever the Indian travels, at home and acros...