The Leela Palace, Hotels and Resorts to hire nearly 3,000 people in the next three years as luxury expansion gains pace

Hotels and Resorts says its people-first culture has remained unchanged despite scaling up and going public.

Speaking about the company’s growth and people strategy, Anuraag Bhatnagar, CEO, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, said the hospitality chain is currently powered by a team of over 6,400 associates across the country and is continuing its expansion journey towards a portfolio of 24 hotels, resorts and experiential luxury offerings.

Over the next three years, the company plans to open nine hotels and hire almost 3,000 employees across functions. While leadership roles will largely be filled internally, the company also aims to recruit local talent and further train them through its internal finishing-school-style programmes.



As the company expands into newer hospitality and experiential segments, its talent requirements are also evolving. Alongside strengthening the traditional hospitality talent pipeline, the company is increasingly looking to hire for specialised roles aligned with emerging travel and luxury consumption trends, including wellness, adventure, wildlife, immersive programming and destination-led experiences.

The company is also looking at skill sets such as naturalists, storytellers, wildlife experts, wellness practitioners and experience curators to help create differentiated and deeply immersive guest journeys.

“The future of luxury hospitality lies in creating meaningful experiences, and talent will play a critical role in shaping that vision,” Bhatnagar said.

Speaking on the company’s transition into a publicly listed entity, Bhatnagar said that while the organisation is now accountable to a wider group of stakeholders and operates with greater rigor and discipline across all aspects of the business, hospitality fundamentally remains a people-led industry.

He added that the company has always maintained a thoughtful and efficient approach to workforce planning, it continues to view employees as a long-term investment rather than merely a cost line.

On artificial intelligence, the company said AI is increasingly being deployed across revenue management, marketing, finance and hiring functions. During recruitment for its latest leadership development batch, AI tools were used to assess more than 1,600 applicants based on skill and aptitude matching.

“The warm human connection cannot be replaced by AI in luxury hospitality,” Bhatnagar said.



“At The Leela, technology and AI are being used thoughtfully to enhance personalization, operational efficiency and decision-making to aid the human warmth that defines luxury hospitality. We leverage AI and data intelligence to better understand guest preferences, improve marketing and revenue efficiencies, and enable teams with insights that help deliver more intuitive service. However, the essence of hospitality, defined by empathy, emotional connection, anticipation and care, remains deeply human. The guest interactions, personalized service moments and emotional warmth that guests associate with The Leela are aspects we believe should always be led by people, with technology acting as an enabler,” he added.

For fresh graduates from hotel management institutes, the company has introduced programmes such as Leela Leadership Development initiatives focused on luxury service standards, operational exposure and educational qualifications.

The company has also partnered with institutions such as Indian School of Hospitality, Glion Institute of Higher Education and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad for specialised management and executive training programmes.

Additionally, the hospitality major is investing in women-focused culinary training through its ‘Chefs by The Leela’ initiative in collaboration with Le Cordon Bleu.

The company is set to launch The Leela Coorg Forest Sanctuary, The Leela Jaisalmer and The Leela Luxury Residences as part of its next phase of growth.