India, July 1 -- NOESIS Hotel Advisors' new report The Art and Science of Buying and Selling Hotels makes a strong case that hotels in India are no longer just "passion businesses" but have become serious investment assets.

Market Numbers

- Transactions studied: ~125

- Keys covered: 37,847

- Disclosed deal value: Rs.36,564 crore

- Average value per key: ~Rs.0.97 crore

- Largest buyer group: Institutional investors (Rs.21,812 crore)

- Multi-city portfolios: Rs.15,095 crore

Segment Breakdown

- Luxury hotels: 29 deals, Rs.22,033 crore -> ~Rs.1.68 crore per key

- Budget hotels: 48 deals, 14,903 keys -> ~Rs.0.38 crore per key

- Clear divergence: luxury assets command far higher valuations, while budget deals move volume.

Buyer Profiles

- Developers, family offices, institutional investors, lenders, landowners, and first-generation owners are all active.

- Institutional investors dominate, showing hotels are now seen as long-term yield assets.

Lessons from Case Studies

- South India: A 140-room hotel built too large for its market was sold at Rs.94 crore to protect equity.

- Jaipur: A weekend resort repositioned as a wedding destination doubled its room count and lifted rates.

- Key takeaway: "A buyer pays only for what the business can support."

CEO Insight

Nandivardhan Jain, Founder & CEO of NOESIS:

> "India treated hotels as a passion business for two decades. That time is over. A hotel is a working business inside real estate. Its value comes from the cash it earns, not the size of its lobby."

Outlook

- India still has too few quality hotel rooms, and capital has noticed.

- The report calls this the best window in a decade to buy or sell - but warns against emotional decisions without financial math.

- It provides a working guide: market study, structuring debt/equity, first 100 days post-takeover, and due diligence checklists.

This report signals a structural shift: hotels in India are now firmly part of the capital markets, with institutional money driving valuations.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Travel Media.