Brands
UHM enters India with Rosastays buyout
DUBAI: United Hospitality Management has stormed into India by snapping up boutique brand Rosastays, firing the starting gun on a high-stakes expansion in one of the world’s fastest-growing hospitality markets. Led by managing director Deepika Arora, UHM inherits 17 operational properties across hotspots including Goa, Kasauli, Nainital, Pushkar and Shimla, giving it an instant footprint and a loyal owner base that loves experiential travel.
Select Rosastays hotels will rebrand into the UHM portfolio between late 2025 and early 2026. A pipeline of more than 700 keys, including Garner projects with IHG Hotels & Resorts, signals an aggressive run at South Asia’s hotel owners who crave global standards delivered with local smarts.
Chief operating officer for the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, Klaus Assmann, said India was among hospitality’s most dynamic battlegrounds and the company was betting long on the region’s soaring demand. His confidence rests on Arora, a respected industry strategist with two decades across global brands, who has sharpened Dusit’s comeback in India and now has the mandate to shape UHM’s presence in a market hungry for differentiation.
Arora said UHM was landing at a moment when travellers want authenticity, design and memorable service. Her playbook is built on global systems, strong owner economics and a clear aim to set new standards from boutique to luxury.
With more than 30 years of luxury know-how, UHM manages marquee properties from Hyatt Regency Lisbon and Sheraton Cascais to Th8 Palm Dubai Beach Resort and Movenpick JLT. Its reach extends into 60 plus restaurants and innovative wellness brands such as Serenity, Pure by Serenity and Active by Serenity, reinforcing its credentials as a lifestyle operator rather than a mere hotel manager.
A ”glocal” mindset, matching international rigour with local intelligence, has made UHM a trusted partner for giants like Marriott, Accor, Wyndham, Hyatt, Yotel and IHG. India is the newest stage of an audacious act.
The curtain has just risen and UHM is here to steal the spotlight.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
