A striking trend is emerging in India’s domestic travel landscape: the accommodation itself is becoming the experience. According to Booking.com’s How India Travels 2025 study (conducted with Accenture across 3,022 respondents in Tier I–III cities in August 2025), nearly 80% of Indian travellers say they’ll spend most of their time at the property — far above the global average of 51%.
This shift is not incremental, but structural. The report segments travellers into four evolving personas — Trip Architects, Unscripted Explorers, Next-gen Co-pilots, and Timeless Travellers — each demanding more than just a roof over their heads. They want spaces that tell stories, feel unique, and are “Instagrammable.” It’s no longer “Which hotel is cheapest?” but rather “What makes this experience memorable?”
Consequently, non-room revenues, especially from F&B, events, workshops, wellness, now contribute up to 50% of revenue in premium properties. Boutique stays are leveraging this by offering spiritual sessions, art pop-ups, local cuisine immersion, and other curated experiences — turning properties into micro-destinations themselves.
On the infrastructure side, the report underscores how AI and frictionless payments (UPI, BNPL, flexible models) are becoming foundational to seamless guest journeys: 83% of Indian travellers believe AI makes travel easier; 82% rely on it to help avoid crowds; 80% expect experience suggestions that benefit local communities. Hotels embracing such tech report improved conversions, especially from younger segments and short-trip planners.
From a market perspective, the momentum is strong. Booking.com’s data shows domestic travel searches rose from 103 million/month in 2022 to 141 million/month in 2024. The supply-demand calculus favors hotel owners: demand is projected to grow ~10.5% annually vs. supply growth at 8%, and branded hotels currently account for a small fraction of India’s accommodation inventory. Tier‐II/III cities are especially attractive: off-season volumes now hold at ~63% of peak levels (up from 57% a year earlier), indicating more balanced occupancy across the year.
For established publications like yours, this report is a goldmine — not just for covering trends — but to critique, analyze and forecast how mid-tier hotels must pivot strategy. How do you justify investments in experience design? Which tech to adopt vs wait on? Which cities will become boutique hotspots? These are the angles worth exploring.
