Lemon Tree Hotels Targets UAE, Thailand, and Maldives to Follow Indian Travelers Abroad
India's prominent hotel group plans international expansion, focusing on popular overseas destinations within a three-hour flight radius.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Lemon Tree Hotels targets expansion into the UAE, Thailand, and the Maldives.
- The strategy capitalizes on outbound Indian travelers, who exceeded 30 million last year.
- The group is restructuring into two entities, aiming for a Fleur Hotels stock listing in early 2027.
Lemon Tree Hotels, a mid-market hotel group based in India, is preparing for a major international push by targeting markets frequently visited by Indian travelers. The group is prioritizing the UAE, Thailand, and the Maldives to take its brands beyond its domestic home market, building upon its existing operations in Nepal and Dubai.
During the company's first-quarter earnings call on Monday, Executive Chairman Patanjali Keswani outlined the core philosophy behind the move, stating the importance of following customers where they travel and leveraging the domestic customer base as a springboard for global expansion. Keswani noted that roughly 45% of Lemon Tree's overall demand originates from repeat guests.
Keswani explained that while repeat guests make up a significant portion of demand, only about half of them are enrolled in the company's loyalty program, which boasts approximately 2.5 million members. This gap presents a prime opportunity to deepen customer relationships as travelers venture abroad. Consequently, the company is prioritizing destinations within roughly three hours of flying time from India, where large volumes of outbound Indian tourists travel.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
"Go where your customers go"
This international expansion coincides with a substantial corporate restructuring that splits the business into an asset-light management and franchising firm under Lemon Tree Hotels, and an ownership and development arm named Fleur Hotels, backed by Warburg Pincus. A separate stock market listing for Fleur is targeted for the first half of 2027.
Lemon Tree Hotels' targeted expansion into Thailand and the Maldives highlights a calculated effort to capture the burgeoning outbound Indian tourist market. By implementing a follow-the-customer strategy, the brand minimizes the risks associated with entering unfamiliar international markets while maximizing the retention value of its existing domestic clientele.
For the quarter ending June 30, 2026, the company reported a 9% increase in revenue with an occupancy rate of 75.7%, although average room rates saw a modest 2% rise. Meanwhile, Fleur Hotels is pursuing approximately 2,500 additional rooms to drive over 50% room-count growth by fiscal 2030, heavily anchored in its upscale Aurika brand.
Source: Skift
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