Berlin- An Indian hotel company believes the future of hospitality isn’t about adding more rooms—it’s about breaking the rules.
Forget breakfast ending at 10 am Forget waiting until 3 pm to check into your room. Forget paying for a hotel if you only need a few hours to rest.
These are the conventions that Sunday Hotelsone of India’s newest premium hospitality brands, is hoping to rewrite as it expands aggressively across Germany.
The company has announced the addition of 24 hotels and resortsincreasing its German portfolio from 11 to 35 properties in one of the largest single expansions by an emerging international hotel operator in the country this year.
Located across Berlin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Hannover, Bonn, Augsburg and Wiesbaden, the hotels previously operated under internationally recognized brands including Accor, Wyndham and H+ Hotels. Rather than constructing new properties, Sunday Hotels is taking over operations through management agreements—an asset-light strategy that allows rapid growth while limiting capital investment.
Yet the real story isn’t the number of hotels. It is what the company plans to do with them.
Challenging Hospitality’s Old Rules
Visit the Sunday Hotels website and one message becomes immediately clear: this is not another hotel brand promising larger beds or better breakfast buffets.
Instead, it talks about a “Reset.”
The company invites guests to “Kickstart Your Reset,” presenting its hotels as flexible living spaces rather than simply places to sleep.
Among its most unusual offerings are Breakfast until 10 PMallowing guests to order breakfast long after traditional morning service has ended, flexible check-in for direct bookings, and the 6-Hour Power Reset—a room designed for travelers who need to sleep, shower, work or recover between flights instead of booking a full overnight stay.
The message is simple: adapt the hotel to the guest—not the guest to the hotel.
It’s a concept aimed squarely at travelers whose lives no longer fit the traditional hospitality timetable.
Germany: The Perfect Laboratory?
Germany may be exactly the place to test this idea.
Europe’s largest economy is also one of the continent’s busiest business travel markets. Every year, millions of executives, exhibitors and international visitors travel to trade fairs such as ITB Berlin, Hannover Messe, IFA Berlin and Messe Frankfurt.
Many arrive on overnight intercontinental flights, work irregular schedules or need only a few hours of rest before their next meeting.
For them, breakfast at night may not sound unusual at all. The concept also reflects broader changes in global travel.
Remote work, hybrid employment and “bleisure” travel have blurred the distinction between business and leisure. Younger travelers increasingly value flexibility over formality, making fixed hotel schedules appear increasingly outdated.
A New Chapter After OYO
Sunday Hotels represents the premium evolution of PRISMformerly known as Oravel Stays, the Indian company behind the global OYO network.
Founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Ritesh Agarwal, OYO became one of the fastest-growing hotel companies in the world by partnering with independent hotels through franchise and management agreements.
That rapid expansion also brought criticism. In several markets, hotel owners questioned contract terms, while guests occasionally complained about inconsistent service standards. Growth often appeared to outpace operational consistency.
Those experiences seem to have shaped the company’s next chapter.
Rather than chasing sheer numbers, PRISM has increasingly focused on profitability, premium hospitality and stronger operational controls. Sunday Hotels is designed to represent that transformation.
Building Through Partnerships
The German expansion also deepens Sunday’s relationship with Aroundtownone of Europe’s largest commercial real estate companies.
Instead of owning hotels, Sunday manages them, introducing centralized technology, revenue management and operational systems while allowing local teams to continue delivering the service standards expected by German guests.
According to Puneet Yadav, Senior Vice President and Head of Hotels for Germany and the UK, Germany remains one of the company’s most important long-term markets.
“Our focus has always been on building a high-quality portfolio,” he said when announcing the expansion. “Having established a successful premium hotel model in the UK, we are now bringing the same operating philosophy to Germany.”
Winning Trust May Be the Hardest Part
Expanding from 11 to 35 hotels is impressive.
Convincing German travelers to switch brands may prove considerably harder.
Germany has one of Europe’s most competitive hotel markets, dominated by established international operators such as Marriott, Hilton, Accor, NH Hotels, Radisson and Dorint. Travelers often choose familiar brands because they know exactly what to expect.
Sunday Hotels must now persuade guests that a relatively new Indian hospitality brand can deliver the same consistency while offering greater flexibility.
The transition also carries risks.
Hotels changing from internationally recognized brands must maintain service quality while introducing new technology, reservation systems and operational procedures. Even small disruptions during rebranding can quickly affect online reviews and guest confidence.
Want Indian Travelers Follow?
The company’s Indian heritage may provide an advantage, but probably not the one many expect.
Germany continues to see growing numbers of Indian visitors traveling for trade fairs, higher education, business and leisure. Some may feel comfortable booking with an Indian-owned hospitality company.
However, Sunday’s marketing suggests that nationality is not its primary selling point.
The brand appears to target a broader audience: digital nomads, remote workers, younger professionals, business travelers with unpredictable schedules and leisure guests seeking flexibility rather than rigid hotel routines.
In that sense, Sunday Hotels is selling a lifestyle more than a nationality.
A Hospitality Experiment Worth Watching
Many hotel companies expand by adding properties. Sunday Hotels is attempting something more ambitious.
It is trying to change expectations about how hotels should operate.
Whether travelers truly want breakfast at 10 pm, six-hour hotel stays and flexible check-in remains to be seen. If the concept succeeds, Germany could become the proving ground for a new generation of guest-centered hospitality.
