As the lines between hospitality and real estate blur, luxury homebuyers are seeking hotel-like experiences in their own homes. Jaideep Dang speaks to Sapna Srivastava about the growing convergence of the two sectors and the rise of branded residences.
Q: How do you view the economy of branded residences? Is it primarily a financial differentiator for real estate companies, or has it truly become an asset class in itself?
Jaideep Dang: in my mind, this space is split into two distinct segments: social and financial/capital-linked. The social aspect is very interesting, and I’ve been thinking through this space over the last few years as it evolves globally and now comes to India. Socially, a hotel and a branded residence are deeply intertwined. Why? Because people get emotional with two major decisions: their hotel decisions and their home decisions.
My thesis on why we get emotional about these places is simple: you sleep there and you eat there. You are actively living in both places, whether for a short duration or a longer duration. Because of that, everyone—your family, your friends—will always have an opinion. They’ll say, "This hotel is nice," or "This restaurant is lovely," or share a specific experience they had. The same applies to your home because ultimately, you host people there.
No other real estate asset class gives you that same social experience. You don’t host people in a warehouse, a data center, or an office. You host them at your home or at your hotel, and that is where the softer, social side comes from. The financial segment is driven by an aspiration. A customer thinks, "I want to live the way I lived during those two or three nights in a hotel room. Why can't I extend that to my home and add those softer sides?"
When you start adding those hospitality elements, your costs increase, but so do your aspirations. That is exactly where the social and financial sides kick in. Branded residential real estate delivers on that aspiration and lifestyle experience, and it asks you to pay an extra premium to achieve it. Ultimately, it drives down to financial parameters: What am I investing in? What am I getting as a brand promise? What am I going to sell this as? If an investor pays a premium while buying, the question is whether they can get a multiplier on that premium when they exit and sell. It’s a unique blend of a social and financial decision, which makes this segment highly distinct. It is related to hotels, yet unrelated to hotels in equal measure.
Q: From the perspective of a hospitality brand, how do the economics of being associated with these real estate developments work out?
Jaideep Dang: For hotel brands, the most important factor is that you are lending your brand. That brand is the most valued asset a hotel company has—it is not the physical form of the hotel, but the brand that goes on top of the building. Hotel companies live and die for their brand; reputation is supreme. What comes with the brand is income. Ultimately, brands look for that balance of reputation and income, which is why collaboration and partner selection become extremely critical.
Q: What are the core challenges and opportunities you see when hospitality brands partner with real estate developers?
Jaideep Dang: You have raised a very pertinent point regarding whom you are collaborating with. This is exactly where brands spend the majority of their time and energy: finding the right partner. In my mind, it requires a constitutional alignment. You must be entirely like-minded in terms of your location, your product, your horizons, and your overall vision. Out of all the parameters involved, the partner is the absolute most important thing a brand looks for.
Q: How do you see this asset class evolving in India? Is it just temporary hype, or will it solidify into its own established asset class?
Jaideep Dang: To be honest, the jury is still out. It’s still out because we haven’t yet seen a fully operational branded residential development come online in India. They exist globally, but in India, it is yet to happen. However, our markets are rapidly maturing to accommodate this asset class. Customers are exposed to global trends, they know what is happening, and they want that same hospitality experience they enjoy during hotel stays brought straight into their homes. So, while the jury is out on how these assets will function long-term, we have rightfully taken the first steps.
Another critical factor is the regulatory support we now have. Over the last few years, the implementation of RERA (Real Estate Regulation Act) has governed development and brought an immense amount of credibility and confidence to the process. It gives confidence to both the buyer and the brand that what is being built will actually be delivered—and if it isn't, there are real consequences. These regulatory guardrails are a very good step forward. Because of this, our view is that the market is maturing, assets are getting better, and the time is not far off when we will see these assets functioning seamlessly, just as they do in global markets.
Q: Will we see more hospitality brands expanding into the real estate sector moving forward?
Jaideep Dang: Yes, absolutely. The interest levels are incredibly high right now. But again, the most important things to evaluate are the specific market, the appetite of the home buyer, and exactly how much appetite for luxury exists within each of our distinct cities. That is where the opportunity needs to be addressed.
