By Varun Hooja, Partner, Machan Resorts LLP.
The Indian traveller has changed faster than the industry serving them. Weekend tourism out of our metros has grown from an occasional indulgence into a regular habit, and preferences have quietly inverted: travellers now choose experiences over amenities, immersion over itineraries, and destinations that offer what cities cannot. The question for hospitality is no longer how much we can add to a property, but what we can meaningfully leave untouched.
Consider Mumbai, a megacity without a green lung: no Hyde Park, no Central Park. Millions of people living in concrete density need somewhere within driving distance to escape to. The pandemic accelerated what was already underway, as travellers began seeking private, low-density, nature-oriented stays over crowded resorts, and that preference has proven durable rather than momentary.
This conviction has shaped The Machan, Lonavala since it was conceived. The property was deliberately kept at unusually low density, among the sparsest in the country by space per accommodation, with elevated structures designed to conform to the land rather than level it. Even its natural limits on mobile signal became part of the appeal: guests disconnect from constant digital communication in order to reconnect with themselves, their partners, their families and the natural world. The experience is drawn from the forest itself, which has been under continuous preservation for over three decades, its indigenous tree count regenerated from approximately 4,000 to more than 30,000, with carbon-neutral operations maintained since 2021.
The lesson for our industry is that experiential demand is not a trend to be merchandised but a mandate to conserve. When the destination itself is the experience, the businesses that protect their landscapes, rather than build over them, will be the ones this new traveller keeps returning to.
