In a conversation with Sumit Mitruka, Founder and CEO, Summit Hotels and Resorts, and Randhir Gupta, VP, Commercial and Business Development, Mayfair Hotels and Resorts, TTJ explores their hospitality philosophy, growth strategies, and vision for the future.
Eastern India is undergoing a quiet but significant hospitality transformation, driven by rising domestic tourism, improved connectivity, and growing traveller interest in the region’s cultural and natural richness
From the rhino grasslands of Assam and the mist-covered hills of Meghalaya to the tea estates of Darjeeling and the temple towns of Odisha, the region is witnessing a surge in both leisure and experiential travel demand.
For years, this demand outpaced supply. Quality hotels with genuine local character, reliable facilities, and professional hospitality were scarce across much of the region. That gap is now closing, and two Eastern Indian hotel groups are leading the charge, each with a distinct philosophy, deep regional roots, and a clear vision for what hospitality in this part of India can and should look like.
Mayfair and Summit: Two Distinct Hospitality Philosophies
Founded in 1982, Mayfair Hotels and Resorts has built a legacy spanning more than four decades, emerging as a symbol of luxury within this evolving transformation.
Across 19 extraordinary properties, from tranquil lakeshores to sun-kissed beaches, Mayfair has built a reputation for heritage-inspired hospitality that is inseparable from its natural surroundings. Under the leadership of Dilip Ray, Mayfair has cultivated a brand identity centred on cultural richness, regional architecture, and experiential luxury, anchored by its long-standing philosophy: ‘Stay with us, Stay with Nature’.
Rather than functioning merely as accommodation providers, Mayfair properties are designed to reflect the landscapes and communities surrounding them, an approach that has helped the brand maintain strong differentiation in an increasingly crowded luxury market.
Summit Hotels and Resorts occupies equally important ground, democratising quality hospitality across the region through a true-value model built on disciplined operations and genuine community investment. With a workforce of over 1,000 employees drawn largely from local communities, Summit’s growth has been as much a social story as a commercial success.
Summit has earned its reputation through consistency, reliability, and guest satisfaction, maintaining 65 to 70 per cent occupancy across its portfolio while setting its sights firmly on 50 properties by 2030.
Together, Mayfair and Summit represent something greater than the sum of their properties: proof that Eastern India’s hospitality renaissance is being written by those who know it best.
The Domestic Tourism Shift
While numbers tell one story, the texture of travel reveals another. Both Sumit Mitruka and Randhir Gupta are quick to point out that the surge in domestic tourism across Eastern India is not simply a volume story; it is a behavioural one.
“Domestic travel today is no longer just about reaching a destination and ticking places off a list. Travellers want to feel connected to where they are staying. Summit has built a carefully connected network across Sikkim, Darjeeling, Rishikesh, Dirang, and the wider Northeast circuit,” says Mitruka.
This shift has validated Summit’s long-standing focus on destination-led hospitality rather than generic accommodation formats.
Gupta echoes the sentiment from Mayfair’s vantage point, observing that several converging forces are shaping Eastern India’s hospitality landscape. He notes, “Cities such as Guwahati, Siliguri, and Gangtok are seeing higher business and leisure travel demand, while destinations like Darjeeling and Puri continue attracting premium travellers.” The rise of destination weddings, heritage tourism, wellness travel, and short weekend getaways is further amplifying occupancy rates across the region.
Digital bookings and regional cuisine-based experiences, Gupta adds, are fast becoming defining features of the new Eastern India travel playbook.
Building Differentiation in a Competitive Market
As Eastern India’s appeal grows, so does competition. New entrants, national chains, and boutique independents are all staking their claim across the region’s emerging leisure markets. The question of differentiation, what makes a guest choose one property over another, and return, sits at the heart of both conversations.
For Summit, the answer lies in what Mitruka calls destination identity. “In leisure destinations, travellers increasingly remember how a place made them feel rather than just what facilities it offered. A stay in Gangtok should feel different from one in Dirang or Rishikesh,” he says. Summit maintains consistency in service and operational standards across its portfolio, but resists the homogenisation that can flatten a brand’s character. Regional architecture, local cuisine, and landscape-led experiences remain deliberate and non-negotiable elements of the guest journey.
Summit’s circuit-based presence across the Northeast allows travellers to move seamlessly between destinations with familiarity and comfort, creating what Mitruka describes as an ecosystem rather than simply a collection of hotels. He says, “We are not simply operating hotels in these markets. We have built an ecosystem around them, and that becomes a differentiator.”
Mayfair’s differentiation operates on similar philosophical ground, though expressed through the language of luxury. Gupta points to the brand’s strong regional legacy, distinctive resort locations, warm service culture, and ability to blend local heritage with modern luxury pillars sustaining Mayfair’s identity in an increasingly contested market.
Building for the Future
If the present is about consolidating identity, the future is about carefully calibrated expansion, and both brands are thinking well beyond the immediate horizon.
Summit’s roadmap is ambitious and deliberately segmented. Mitruka speaks of strengthening the brand’s boutique and premium offerings through the Summit Signature Collection, a curated tier that includes properties such as Summit Signature Pangthang and the recently launched Rungkhung Village Resort in Dirang.
The brand is also entering new travel segments through its upcoming Mandir Collection, beginning with Salasar, with future opportunities being explored in spiritual destinations including Haridwar and Ayodhya. With a target of 50 properties by 2030, Summit is scaling with purpose. “The objective is not simply to increase inventory. We want to build hospitality formats that remain closely connected to the destination and evolve alongside changing travel preferences,” says Mitruka.
For Mayfair, the future of luxury travel in Eastern India is shaped by three intersecting forces: improved connectivity opening previously hard-to-reach destinations, a growing appetite for experiential and wellness tourism, and rising demand for premium destination weddings. “Mayfair Hotels and Resorts views Eastern India as a rising luxury travel destination,” says Gupta, adding that the brand’s response will continue to centre on curated guest experiences, culinary excellence, and environmentally conscious growth.
Both brands are thinking about sustainability not as a marketing add-on but as an operational imperative, reflecting their deep familiarity with the fragile ecosystems and communities in which their properties are embedded.
A Regional Story with National Significance
What emerges from both conversations is a portrait of two hotel groups doing something increasingly rare in Indian hospitality: growing without losing themselves. Neither Mayfair nor Summit is chasing a generic national template. Both are doubling down on what makes Eastern India distinct: its landscapes, cultures, pace, people, and translating that distinctiveness into hospitality experiences that resonate with a new generation of informed, values-driven travellers.
Gupta puts it plainly, “What sets Mayfair apart is not simply its properties, but its ability to maintain a strong identity in an increasingly competitive hospitality market through culinary excellence, culturally rooted design, and a guest experience philosophy that has remained consistent across four decades of growth.”
Mitruka, meanwhile, frames Summit’s trajectory not as aggressive expansion but as purposeful evolution, a brand that has earned its place in the region and now intends to deepen it. With a portfolio of award-winning properties and a direct booking strategy designed to reduce OTA dependence and build long-term guest loyalty, Summit is positioning itself not just as a hospitality brand but as a regional institution.
As Eastern India’s hospitality landscape grows more sophisticated and experience-driven, brands such as Mayfair and Summit are demonstrating that regional understanding and destination authenticity can be powerful long-term differentiators.
