A New Chapter for India’s Hotel Investment Landscape

A New Chapter for India’s Hotel Investment Landscape:

JLL Appoints Gaurav Sharma as Head of Hotels & Hospitality Group, India

In a strategic move signaling its deep commitment to India’s hospitality sector, global real-estate services firm JLL has appointed Gaurav Sharma as Managing Director, Hotels India & Senior Director, Hotels Capital Markets Asia. 
Based in Delhi, Sharma will lead JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group across India, reporting to Nihat Ercan, CEO of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group Asia Pacific. 

Tracking the Appointment

• According to the announcement, Sharma brings nearly 20 years of experience in real-estate and hospitality investment, with a blend of financial expertise and operational acumen. 

• The appointment comes at a moment of accelerated growth in India’s hospitality segment: for example, JLL data shows a 10.5% year-on-year rise in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) in India this year. 

• In his role, Sharma will oversee hotel investments, asset sales, capital markets transactions, and strategic advisory across key Indian cities (such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore). He will also collaborate with global teams to connect Indian opportunities with international capital. 

Sharma’s Background & Leadership Credentials

• Gaurav Sharma holds a Master’s in Finance (MFC) and is a CFA charterholder — credentials that underscore his analytical grounding. 

• His prior experience includes senior leadership roles at The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and SAMHI Hotels Ltd., where he led strategic expansion and asset performance initiatives.

• Notably, his appointment marks a “return” to JLL, since he previously led North India Capital Markets there between 2006-2012. 

• Industry peers describe him as a “strategic thinker with a pragmatic style… someone who can balance numbers with narrative, ensuring that every investment decision aligns with long-term value creation.” 

Why This Matters — The Context of India’s Hospitality Surge

• India’s hotel sector is experiencing renewed investor confidence: rising domestic tourism, increasing business travel, and global brand expansion are all converging. 

• Data cited by JLL: as of YTD September 2025, RevPAR in India rose ~10.5%. 

• First half of 2025: 182 hotel signings in India, totaling 22,469 keys — a 16% increase compared to the same period last year. Over 70% of these signings were in Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities. 

• Investor composition is evolving: high-net-worth individuals, family offices and private hotel owners comprised ~51% of transaction volume; listed hotel companies ~34%. 

• Projections point to ~US$450 million in hotel transactions in India for 2025, with a path toward US$1 billion by 2028. 

• All of this signals a shift: hospitality in India is no longer just about metro cities and leisure stays; it is becoming an institutionalised, investment-grade asset class. Sharma’s appointment aligns with JLL’s strategy of scaling its advisory and capital-markets capabilities accordingly.

What Sharma’s Mandate Likely Includes

Given the announcement and industry context, here are some of the key responsibilities Gaurav Sharma is expected to focus on:

• Capital markets and transactions: Driving large-scale hotel investment deals, acquisitions, asset sales, and capital raises in India and across Asia.

• Advisory practice: Guiding developers, operators and investors on strategic opportunities — for instance identifying Tier 2/3 city hotel growth, portfolio‐rationalisation, asset repositioning.

• Connecting Indian opportunities to global capital: Leveraging JLL’s global platform to channel foreign/international investment into Indian hospitality assets.

• Building future-ready hotel portfolios: In a market where sustainability, digital guest experience, multi-use hospitality models (bleisure, co-living/hospitality hybrids) are becoming important, setting frameworks for resilient assets.

• Strengthening JLL’s leadership bench in India: With this senior appointment, JLL signals it is placing more weight on hospitality as a core asset class in India’s real-estate ecosystem.

Implications & What to Watch

• For investors: A seasoned leader at the helm increases confidence — stronger advisory and transactional capacity means more structured deals in hospitality.

• For developers/operators: With more capital flowing in, there may be more hotel signings, expansions into non-metro India, brand-partnerships, and innovative product offerings.

• For Tier 2/3 markets: The data already shows 70%+ of new hotel signings are outside metros — this trend may accelerate, offering opportunities for regional real-estate growth beyond traditional hubs.

• For JLL: This move strengthens its brand in hospitality advisory in India, and positions the firm to capture the next wave of hotel investment growth across Asia.

• For Sharma himself: His leadership will likely be measured by how quickly he can pull in major transactions, scale the team, and deliver value for clients in India and regionally.

Conclusion

Gaurav Sharma’s appointment as Head of Hotels & Hospitality for JLL India comes at a pivotal time for India’s hotel industry. With nearly two decades of experience, strong credentials, and a track record that spans capital markets and asset management, he is well-positioned to steer this growth phase. For JLL, this is more than a leadership hire — it reflects the firm’s strategic bet on hospitality becoming a mainstream, large-scale investment category in India.

As the landscape evolves — with experience-driven travel, multi-purpose hotel models and geographic diversification — the role of seasoned advisors and capital markets specialists becomes ever more critical. Sharma’s leadership is a clear signal: the era of boutique, isolated hotel projects is giving way to large, institutional-grade hospitality portfolios backed by global capital and local expertise.