Ventive Hospitality, the listed hospitality joint venture between Panchshil Realty and Blackstone, is in discussions to acquire two to three large luxury hotels in India. The move comes as competition intensifies among domestic and international hotel operators, prompting companies to pursue acquisitions to expand their portfolios.
“We are looking at two or three big-box hotels, which will deliver a solid EBITDA of Rs 100 crore-plus. We are in talks with two to three large hotels at this moment,” said Ranjit Batra, CEO of Ventive Hospitality.
Last year, Ventive Hospitality proposed acquiring a 76% stake in Soham Leisure Ventures, which owns the Hilton Goa Resort, along with a land parcel in Goa. This year, the company agreed to acquire 100% of Kelzai Eco Reserves Private Limited for Rs 281.88 crore in cash, at an enterprise value of Rs 466 crore. The acquisition is aimed at expanding its presence in the luxury eco-resort and branded villa segment.
“We expect to reach our target through a combination of acquisitions and organic development,” Batra said.
Ventive Hospitality’s portfolio includes the Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott and DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in Pune. Meanwhile, its international presence extends to the Maldives, where it operates properties under the Raaya, Anantara and Conrad brands.
“Currently, we have 14 assets and roughly 2,200 keys. We have grown all of this over the last five years. Going forward, we are targeting a portfolio of 4,000-plus keys,” Batra said. The company has around 360 keys under construction and approximately 1,100 keys in its right-of-first-offer arrangement pipeline with promoters, he added. Of its 14 operational assets, seven were developed by Panchshil, while the remaining properties were acquired.
Ventive Hospitality is also planning to introduce India’s first Ritz-Carlton Reserve project in the Sahyadri Hills. The development will add an ultra-luxury branded residence offering to the company’s portfolio.
“Ritz-Carlton Reserve is a step above Ritz-Carlton. There are only about 10 in the world. We are doing two of them, one in Sri Lanka and one in India,” Batra said.
“The one in India will come up in the Sahyadri Hills. It has about 450 acres of beautiful land, surrounded by the forest on three sides. It will be a branded residence associated with the Ritz-Carlton Reserve concept,” he added.
Financially, Ventive Hospitality reported revenue from operations of Rs 543 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, up from Rs 507.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Additionally, its profit rose to Rs 124 crore from Rs 38 crore during the same period, reflecting a significant improvement in its financial performance.
Additionally, Batra said the company recorded EBITDA of Rs 1,298.7 crore in FY26, while achieving one of the hospitality industry’s highest EBITDA margin expansions.
“That is a significant achievement, although not many people know it. We also had the highest EBITDA margin expansion in the industry, which shows we did a lot behind the scenes on efficiency,” he said.
The company also reported double-digit growth in rates, while EBITDA grew faster than revenue. “Our EBITDA grew 49% in the financial year 2026 alone,” Batra added. “Some of our hotels achieve EBITDA margins of 50%.”
Beyond acquisitions and new developments, Ventive Hospitality’s project pipeline includes a hotel in Varanasi. The company is also repositioning a hotel in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area.
Meanwhile, Ventive Hospitality must reduce promoter ownership to comply with SEBI’s minimum 25% public float requirement within three years of listing. Batra said the company is evaluating a qualified institutional placement (QIP) or an offer for sale (OFS) to meet the requirement.
“We have two routes. We can do a QIP or an OFS. We will evaluate the options. We have about 13 months,” Batra said. “By December 2027, we need to be at 75%. Currently, we are at 89%. If we do a few big acquisitions, then we would look at a QIP,” he added.
Ventive Hospitality also benefits from a sizeable office portfolio that provides recurring rental income alongside its hotel operations. The company has approximately 3.4 million square feet of office space, which Batra said supports financial stability and offers resilience during downturns in the hospitality sector.
“We have about 3.4 million square feet of office space. That provides stability. In a downturn, our office occupancy should remain strong and provide a pipeline for EBITDA growth or stability. Even if we have a downward cycle in hotels, very few companies have the combination of hotels and office assets that we have,” Batra said.
