Indian Hospitality Summit & Awards 2025
#IHA 2025
THEME: ATITHI DEVO BHAVA 2.0 – HOSTING THE WORLD, SHAPING THE FUTURE
September 22–23, 2025 (Monday & Tuesday) at JW Marriott Hotel, New Delhi – Aerocity
BW HOTELIER, India’s leading hospitality media platform, proudly celebrates 11 years of excellence in 2025. Over the past eleven years, it has built a reputation for thought leadership through its print magazine, digital platforms, curated web shows, and high-impact industry events.
At the heart of this journey lies the Indian Hospitality Summit & Awards (IHA) – launched in 2016—which has grown into a marquee gathering for the country’s hospitality, travel, tourism, and F&B sectors.
The 9th edition of IHA returns in September 2025 in a powerful phygital format, bringing together key decision-makers, innovators, investors, and influencers to exchange ideas, unlock opportunities, and set the agenda for a new era in Indian hospitality.
IHA-2025: Overview at a Glance
Theme: Atithi Devo Bhava 2.0: Hosting the World, Shaping the Future
Day-Wise Focus:
• Day 1 – India Invests & Builds
Focus: FDI, Greenfield Growth, Policy, and Private Sector Vision
• Day 2 – India Delivers & Elevates
Focus: Operations, Talent Pipeline, DEI, Technology, and Workforce Excellence
Evening Programs:
• Day 1: Leadership Networking Dinner & Cocktails
• Day 2: BW HOTELIER Indian Hospitality Awards Gala
Speaker Line-Up Includes:
• Union Ministers & Government VVIPs
• Global & Indian Hospitality CXOs
• Leading Investors & Hotel Owners
• Industry Thought Leaders
• Renowned Architects, Designers & Celebrity Chefs
• Hospitality CHROs, Educationists & Operations Leaders
Awards & Recognition
The IHA Awards are recognised across the industry for their transparency and credibility. With an independent, multi-tier jury process – spanning regional shortlisting to national evaluation – the awards honour excellence across categories, functions, and geographies. All nominations follow an open and inclusive online submission process, encouraging broad-based participation from across the Indian hospitality ecosystem.
chief guests
Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Hon’ble Minister of Culture & Tourism
Government of India
Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh
Hon’ble Deputy Chairperson
Rajya Sabha
Distinguished Speakers
Puneet Chhatwal
MD & CEO
IHCL
Rajeev Menon
President
Asia Pacific excluding China
Marriott International
Dimitris Manikis
President EMEA
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
KB Kachru
President, Hotel Association of India and Chairman – Radisson Hotel Group – South Asia
Priya Paul
Chairperson
Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels
Suman Billa, IAS
Additional Secretary
& Director General of Tourism
Government of India
Mugdha Sinha, IAS
Managing Director
India Tourism Development Corporation
Amrapali Kata, IAS
CEO
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority
AJAY K BAKAYA
Chairman, Sarovar Hotels &
Director, Louvre Hotels India
Anil Chadha
Managing Director
ITC Hotels Limited
ZUBIN SAXENA
Sr Vice President & Regional Head
South Asia, Hilton
Sunjae Sharma
Managing Director
India & Southwest Asia, Hyatt
Nikhil Sharma
MD & COO – South Asia
Radisson Hotel Group
SUDEEP JAIN
MD – South West Asia
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Vijay Dewan
Managing Director
Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels
Jatin Khanna
CEO
Sarovar Hotels
VISHVAPREET SINGH CHEEMA
President
Lemon Tree Hotels
Rahool Macarius
Market MD – Eurasia
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Samir MC
CEO
Tamara Leisure Experiences
Sidharth Gupta
Co-founder & CEO
Treebo Hospitality Ventures
Hotel Superhero
Arpit Pant
Director of Business Development, Ascott International Management, India
Anant Apurv Kumar
Co-Founder
Brij Hotels
Souvagya Mohapatra
Regional MD – India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan
Atmosphere Core
Dr Sanjay Sethi
CEO & Managing Director
Chalet Hotels
Shwetank Singh
Executive Director
Chalet Hotels
Gaurav Singh
COO
Chalet Hotels
Harshavardhan Neotia
Chairman
Ambuja Neotia Group
Atul Dangayach
Managing Director
Dangayach Group
JB Singh
President & CEO
InterGlobe Hotels
RAHUL PANDIT
MD & CEO
Advent Hotels International
Manoj Agarwal
Chief Operating Officer – Hospitality
Brigade Group
Sonica Malhotra Kandhari
Joint Managing Director
MBD Group
Satish Kumar
Senior Director – Talent & Culture
Accor India & South Asia
Suma Venkatesh
Executive Vice President – Real Estate & Development
IHCL
Deepika Rao
Executive Vice President
Hotel Openings & New Businesses, IHCL
Anika Gupta
VP – Real Estate & Development
IHCL
Jaideep Dang
Head of Development – Southwest Asia
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Sumbul Siddiqui
Sr Director & Head Hotels,
Capital Markets-Investment Transactions & Sales
Cushman & Wakefield
BHASKAR MB BARUAH
Chief Development Officer
ITC Hotels Limited
Anirudh Kumar
Vice President – Development
Accor India and South Asia
Dhruva Rathore
Vice President – Development
(India & Southwest Asia), Hyatt
Sameer Nayar
Executive Vice President – Strategic Development,
The Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
Gyana Das
Executive Vice President – Corporate Strategy & Head of Investements, SAMHI Hotels
Harmeet Bedi
Senior Vice President – Hotel Investments
JLL
Jacob Purackal
Senior Director – Development,
India & South Asia, Hilton
Davashish Srivastava
Senior Director – Development,
South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group
Mandeep S Lamba
President
South Asia
HVS Anarock
Vijay Thacker
Managing Director,
Horwath HTL India
Karan Mahesh
Senior Sales Manager
South & Southeast Asia
STR
DILIP PURI
Founder & CEO
Indian School of Hospitality
FARHAT JAMAL
Chairman – Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Committee,
IMC Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Puneet Dhawan
Former Head of Asia
Minor Hotels
Prashant Gaurav Gupta
Chief Commercial Officer
Noida International Airport
Arun Kumar
Market VP – North India,
Nepal, Bhutan
Marriott International
Anupam Dasgupta
Senior Vice President – Operations & Head – Wellness, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts
Vineet Mishra
Vice President – Operations,
Accor India and South Asia
Atul Bhalla
Vice President – Operations (North & West),
ITC Hotels Limited
Kanika Hasrat
Senior Regional Director –
Operations (South Asia), Hilton
Radhey S Tawar
Chief Commercial Officer,
Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, Sri Lanka
Yogendra Agnihotri
Senior Regional Director – Operations (South Asia)
Radisson Hotel Group
Sharad Datta
General Manager
JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity
Vinay Jaswal
Vice President – HR Operations (South Asia),
Marriott International
Isha Goyal
Senior Vice President & Head HR,
The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts
Anjali Mehra
Executive VP – Brand and
Communications
The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts
Mielle Batliwala
Assistant Vice President –
HR, Sarovar Hotels
Reema Diwan
Vice President – Design & Technical Services,
Accor India and South Asia
Senthil Kumar
Senior Regional Director, Architecture, Design & Construction (AD&C) – South Asia, Hilton
Mitu Mathur
Director
Gian P Mathur & Associates
Reza Kabul
President
ARK Reza Kabul Architects
Vikram Berry
Area Director, Marketing & Communications – South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group
Manish Tolani
Vice President & Commercial Director –
South Asia, Hilton
Vinay Deshpande
Partner, Technology Consulting Ernst & Young LLP
Hemant Khattar
Director – IT (South Asia)
Radisson Hotel Group
Akshay Thusoo
Senior Vice President –
Commercial, Sarovar Hotels
Tejarshi Roy
Vice President – Strategic
Initiatives, Lemon Tree Hotels
Ashish Agarwal
Senior Vice President – IT,
The Oberoi Group
Brijesh Rathore
Vice President – South Asia (Professional) & Global Strategic Accounts (APAC), Diversey
Dr Dharmik Vaishnav
Head – Project Sales & Technical
Gyproc
DR NISHEETH SRIVASTAVA
Principal
IHM Mumbai
Kanav Mata
Director & Regional Head,
EHL (South Asia, Myanmar
& Middle East)
Rakhee Lalvani
Founder
RLA
aradhana lal
Senior Vice President – Sustainability & ESG, Lemon Tree Hotels
Madhu Bala Sharma
Senior DEI Specialist – Communities Leader
WINNERS IHA – 2024
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