Thomas Cook India’s Hotel Arm to Open 14 Resorts, Moves Upscale

Along with everyone else, Sterling's CEO says the company is "moving the needle" more upscale.

Sterling Holiday Resorts, the leisure hotel arm of Thomas Cook India, plans to add at least 14 new resorts in the 2025-26 financial year, Sterling’s CEO Vikram Lalvani said during the company's earnings call Wednesday.

The brand currently operates 61 properties across India, with 20 more in the pipeline.

The hotel arm has been able to increase its average room rates, Lalvani said. Pre-Covid, Sterling’s average room rates ranged from INR 3,000–3,500 ($35–40). That figure has nearly doubled to INR 6,200 ($72).

“We are moving the needle towards the upper midscale and the upper upscale segments, and moving away from just the midscale segment that we have,” said Lalvani.

Thomas Cook’s overall travel segment revenue increased by 15% year-on-year.

Leisure Travel Drives Growth: Thomas Cook’s leisure business increased by 20% during the financial year. The company operated significant volumes of group and personalized products for the Mahakumbh festival in domestic business. Internationally, the group operated tours for the Japan Cherry Blossom season.

The fourth quarter leisure segment results surpassed pre-pandemic levels, CEO Mahesh Iyer said.

Thomas Cook also continued to increase its experiential travel offerings. During the year, it launche