MUMBAI: India's hospitality heavyweight IHCL has flexed its muscles with a staggering 100 new properties in the last fiscal year, comprising 74 signings and 26 openings. The Tata Group behemoth, which operates the iconic Taj brand, now boasts a portfolio bulging at 380 hotels.

Executive vice president for real estate and development Suma Venkatesh highlighted the company's "industry leading pipeline" of 137 hotels, crediting IHCL's "strong brand presence" and "sustained demand buoyancy" for the achievement. The firm's ambitious "Accelerate 2030" roadmap appears to be motoring along nicely, with upscale and midscale segments—Gateway and Ginger brands—garnering the lion's share of signings.

"Ginger crossed a 100-hotel portfolio and Vivanta reached the 50+ hotel mark," Venkatesh noted, clearly delighted with the milestone.

The company hasn't confined its expansion to domestic shores. It has ventured into fresh middle eastern territory with properties in Bahrain and Ras Al Khaimah, adding over 800 keys to its international collection.

Executive vice president for hotel openings and new businesses Deepika Rao highlighted Ginger's particularly prolific year, with nine new establishments springing up across commercial hubs, industrial townships, leisure destinations and state capitals.

Not content with conventional locations, IHCL has also played pioneer in virgin tourism territory. "Building on its legacy, IHCL pioneered new tourism destinations with SeleQtions and Gateway hotels in Diu and expanded its presence in spiritual destinations with a Taj resort in Puri," Rao explained.

The hiring spree accompanying this expansion has been equally impressive, with over 2,500 new jobs created across the 26 new properties.

IHCL, which was founded when Jamsetji Tata opened The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai in 1903, is now hurtling toward its "Accelerate 2030" goal of a 700-hotel portfolio. For a company recently crowned with the "World's Strongest Hotel Brand 2024" title by Brand Finance, the sky—or perhaps the penthouse suite—appears to be the limit.