OT Interview: Soho House's Dominique Bellas On India Expansion
India's hospitality industry is experiencing a boom. The market, currently valued at USD 247.31 billion, is projected to nearly double by 2029, reaching a staggering USD 475.37 billion and growing at a robust 13.96 per cent annually. This surge is fueled by India's rise as a leading tourist destination for leisure and business travellers, thanks to its geopolitical stability, world-class infrastructure, and commitment to hosting international events.
This positive outlook is further underscored by global brands like Soho House—a hotel chain and a group of private members' clubs—setting up and expanding shop in India, recognising the country's growing significance in the travel scene. With an eye on travel and experiences in food, drink, music, fashion, and art, Soho House is setting its sights on six Indian cities for expansion. To discuss this development, OT interviewed Dominique Bellas, the Membership Director for Soho House Group. Excerpts from the interview here.
Can you share some insights into Soho House's decision to expand its presence in India? What factors influenced this expansion, and what opportunities do you see in the Indian market?
We have been in India for five years and have learned so much from our members and the House in Mumbai. Many of our members based in Mumbai have strong connections in cities such as Delhi, Jaipur, and Hyderabad, and over the years, we've organised a few events in these cities for our members, so this is the natural next step. We will launch our "Cities Without Houses" (CWH) membership in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Kolkata, Goa, Hyderabad and Jaipur for creatives who travel and want to use our Houses. We are also opening two future Houses—one in New Delhi and the other in South Mumbai.
Soho House is known for its unique atmosphere and curated experiences. How do you plan to adapt these offerings to suit the diverse cultural landscape of India?
As with all our cities, we listen to and learn from the members within them. Our job is to get to know each city and understand how members live, work, and play so we can tailor our events, communication, design, and facilities offerings to ensure we are in sync with the market.
What are some key highlights of the expansion plan regarding locations and the experiences Soho House aims to bring to members in India?
We will look to create unique experiences around vital cultural moments in those cities, such as the Jaipur Literature Festival, the India Art Fair, etc. We will also create standalone programming that could include events such as dinners and parties, panel discussions, weekenders, retreats, and more.
Could you elaborate on the travel-focused experiences that Soho House will offer its members in India and how these experiences will differentiate from traditional hospitality offerings?
CWH membership is designed for members who travel both domestically and internationally. So, what could your membership look like? For example, you could be a creative based in New Delhi. When you travel to Paris, London, Mexico City, and LA, you have a home away from home in all those cities to stay in, take meetings and work from, have fun in, and connect with other creatives. Equally, when you travel to one of our 80 CWH locations, you could join our events in Milan during Salone Del Mobile, in Dubai during the art week, or across India in one of our new locations.
How does Soho House plan to engage and collaborate with local artisans, designers, and creatives in India to enhance the authenticity and cultural relevance of its properties and experiences?
As with everything we do, it's always curated by our members, for our members. So, for our events and experiences, we will collaborate with local Indian designers, artists, musicians and chefs to curate our calendar of events. For our properties, while our design is done in-house, we are inspired by the building that will become our House. Also, we always work with local artisans to bring our design to life. All of the art featured in our Houses is specifically curated, so when we open in New Delhi and South Mumbai—we will be curating art from local emerging and established Indian artists from each city.
How does Soho House incorporate sustainable practices into its operations and offerings, especially in the context of its expansion in India?
We are committed to making change and looking at social responsibility and sustainability together—we want to use our platform at Soho House to positively impact our members, teams, and the communities around us. In 2018, we started removing single-use plastics from our Houses. In 2020, we launched House Foundations—our ESG (environmental, social and governance) programme that supports global business in social impact and climate action (reducing our carbon emissions), reducing waste, chemical, water and plastic and ensuring we source ethically.
At Soho House Mumbai, we have also added a scheme in the rooms to encourage members and guests to think about the environment and reuse towels instead of having them replaced daily. We are seeing a growing number of guests opting to reduce washing and support this initiative in Mumbai. We hope to see increased recyclable products and packaging in the hospitality industry, allowing us to minimise the non-food waste we produce.
India is known for its rich culinary traditions. How will Soho House incorporate Indian flavours and culinary experiences into its food and beverage offerings while maintaining its signature style and identity?
As we have done in Soho House Mumbai, our food and drinks offerings balance local and global. There will always be a selection of House favourites that appear on menus in all Soho Houses worldwide—those are tweaked based on local ingredients. Then, we will always have local food and drink on the menu to ensure we are drawing on the cuisine around us and catering to our members. We are also passionate about supporting local drink brands and suppliers to ensure we provide opportunities to businesses in the city we are in.
