Gaurav Sharma heads JLL’s hotel and hospitality group in India, ETTravelWorld

JLL, India’s leading professional real estate services firm, has announced the appointment of Gaurav Sharma as Head of Hotels & Hospitality Group, India and Senior Director, Hotel Capital Markets, Asia. In this strategic leadership role, Sharma will oversee JLL’s hospitality advisory and transactions business in India, with a focus on capitalizing on emerging opportunities in the country’s rapidly expanding hospitality market.

Based in Delhi, Sharma will report to Nihat Ercan, CEO of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group, Asia Pacific. His appointment also marks a return to his home country, where he previously led JLL’s capital markets business in North India between 2006 and 2012. In his expanded regional role, Sharma will also play a key role in strategic hotel transactions across Asia, drawing on his deep experience in mergers, acquisitions and platform investments.

According to JLL’s analysis, India’s hotel sector continues to show remarkable strength, with revenue per available room (RevPAR) growing 10.5 per cent year-on-year as of September 2025. This builds on the record performance of 2024, which saw the addition of over 42,000 new keys and around 25 major investment deals. The first half of 2025 recorded 182 hotel signings with a total of 22,469 rooms, an increase of 16% on the same period last year, driven primarily by expanding development activity in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, which account for more than 70% of new projects.

Investor interest remains broad, with high-net-worth individuals, family offices and private hoteliers contributing 51 percent of transaction volume in 2024, followed by listed hotel companies at 34 percent. With such strong market sentiment, JLL expects the total hotel transaction volume in India to reach USD 450 million in 2025 and USD 1 billion by 2028.

Commenting on the appointment, Nihat Erkan said: “Gaurav’s appointment reinforces JLL’s commitment to strengthening our hospitality expertise in India, and it is particularly rewarding to have him back in the JLL family. His deep understanding of the local and international hospitality markets, coupled with his exceptional transactional experience, positions him ideally to guide our clients across the hospitality sector in India. His return also demonstrates JLL’s continued investment in India’s thriving hotel industry, as we build on our presence through dedicated hospitality expertise across our three key hospitality segments.” Offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore Sharma has nearly two decades of experience in real estate investment and hospitality, with a proven track record in high-value transactions, asset acquisitions, fundraising and portfolio management. Most recently, he served as Vice President – Real Estate and Head of Asset Management and M&A at Indian Hotels Ltd (IHCL), where he led key initiatives across the company’s asset portfolio and prior to that, he was Vice President – Head of Investments at SAMHI Hotels Ltd, where he played a pivotal role in building and expanding the portfolio SAMHI’s hospitality portfolio range from 2012 to 2022.

“I am excited to return to JLL and contribute to the continued expansion of our hospitality practice in India,” said Gaurav Sharma. “The Indian hospitality sector offers tremendous opportunities for growth, and I look forward to working with our clients to unlock value and navigate evolving market dynamics with strategic precision.”

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