Kerten CEO Says First India Property by Year-End, Pipeline Likely to Exceed 1,000-Key Target: Exclusive

Ireland’s Kerten Hospitality will be opening its first property in India before the end of 2026, possibly ahead of the fourth quarter, CEO Marloes Knippenberg told Skift in an exclusive interview.

And the initial target of 1,000 keys in the first phase of its India launch could go higher, Knippenberg said, driven partly by the fact that Indian developers rarely think in single-project terms. “Very few talk in one or two projects. Most of them are talking in nine, 10, 15 projects.”

The lifestyle-led hospitality group, which operates 12 brands across 11 countries, is entering India with three lodging brands: House Hotel, Cloud 7, and HOSME.

The entry has been structured under management agreements, not franchise arrangements, a deliberate choice in a market Knippenberg calls “the most significant new market move till date.”

Skift previously reported that hotel companies are expanding through multi-property dea