ITC Hotels has unveiled a new premium brand, “Epiq Collection,” as part of its strategy to accelerate growth in India’s upscale hospitality segment. The brand will debut with two properties — a 118-key owned hotel in Puri and a 201-key managed hotel in Tirupati — as the company targets adding around 1,000 rooms under the new label over the medium term.

“With this new brand launch, ITC Hotels aims to add about 1,000 keys under Epiq Collection over the medium term, reinforcing its commitment to offering elevated hospitality experiences across India. This strategic addition to the portfolio is designed to accelerate the company’s premiumisation journey by focusing on the conversion of high-quality hotels into new owned and managed properties,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

Rivals Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) operates the Vivanta brand in the premium segment while Lemon Tree Hotels operates the Aurika brand.

The new brand launch comes at a time when the group’s outlook for the second half of 2025-26 (H2FY26) is positive, signalling an uptrend, largely due to strong fundamentals and rising discretionary spending.

For the second quarter of the ongoing financial year (Q2FY26), the hospitality arm of the ITC group recorded a 74.3 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to ₹132.8 crore from ₹76.2 crore in the same period of FY25.

Its revenue from operations grew 7.9 per cent to ₹839.5 crore from ₹778 crore in the year-ago period. Its profit before interest, depreciation, and tax (PBIDT) grew 34.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹294.7 crore.

“The hospitality sector faced seasonal softness in the quarter, which was further impacted by heavy monsoon rains that dampened travel sentiment and leisure mobility in July and August. A lower number of auspicious dates in the quarter also affected the wedding segment. However, demand rebounded in September with longer weekends and early festive activity, reaffirming the sector’s medium- to long-term resilience,” the release stated.

The company’s room revenue growth was driven by robust performance in the retail, corporate, and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) segments. The average daily rate for the quarter grew by 6 per cent while occupancy expanded by 254 basis points (bps), resulting in overall standalone Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) growth of 9 per cent. On a consolidated basis, RevPAR registered a double-digit growth of 11 per cent during the quarter over last year.