Page 134 - HH Oct-Nov 2023

HOTELS

operating over 3000 plus keys. The Chairman wished
me well but scoffed at my response as he had realised I
was under prepared. For the first few years, we
struggled with market acceptance. The competitive
landscape was large and dominated by the international
brands.
Fortunately, our successful hotel operations in Jaipur,
Chennai, and Ahmedabad caught the attention of
developers, consulting companies, and owners alike.
Our first three owners were our biggest supporters,
recommended Lemon Tree Hotels and Carnation Hotels
to their friends and family who either ran standalone
hotels or faced challenges with their existing brands or
wanted to enter the business. Our satisfied customers
became our best ambassadors and advocated our
exceptional performance. They had witnessed the
difference we had made to their profitability and how
we ran their hotels differently.
After our meagre success between 2012 and 2016, we
finally gained traction. The period from 2016 to 2019
was an incredible period. We signed almost 48
contracts during this period, and by the time I left, we
had signed almost 65 contracts. We were operational
and running 45 hotels, and we even managed to open 9
hotels during the Covid pandemic, some others were advantage. We worked together as a cohesive team to
delayed due to the circumstances. It was a thrilling time, create magic.
with a small young team we managed to design anew, Our collaborative efforts were not limited to any one
create new experiences and service practices. We area. We would sit together and discuss everything
brought the best practices from luxury and scaled them from artwork, design, area layouts to fabrics and
into our optimizable model. artefacts. Despite my many years in the business, I must
This period of growth owes a large amount of credit to concede their knowledge was much superior to mine. It
the first 3-4 team members who were there from the was my responsibility to harness their knowledge and
beginning. Ms. GJ went above and beyond, opening motivation. When you have the right people together, it
hotels and staying at difficult locations. Dark and dusty becomes a wonderful amalgamation of talent that
sites, engaging with project staff and labour; nothing works together to achieve success. Without my “gang of
deterred her, she did it diligently, and with tenacity. We 3”, Carnation Hotels and I would not have succeeded
had hotels all over the country, from the mountains to and neither would we have created magic in the newer
the northeast to the west. We even signed contracts for hotels.
hotels internationally in Bhutan and Dubai. The Dubai They spent countless hours late into the night even on
hotel opened just before the Covid pandemic hit. weekends, helping me develop newer concepts. Even
Our journey was one of transformation. Lemon Tree Covid wasn’t a deterrent to the two – we created the
Hotels had started as an owned hotel company and was new luxury brand and a newly designed resort all on
now expanding with the managed hotels. Previously, we calls and zoom, as travel was limited. More about that in
were mostly focused on the domestic market, but we the ensuing paras. Being from a financial background in
soon spread our wings to new locations including my undergraduate years, I had always had a keen
Bhutan and Dubai. The success of this expansion can interest in understanding the dynamics of board
be largely attributed to the contributions of some key meetings, acquisition of various kinds of funds and line
team members. The head of marketing and head of of finance, what an IPO entailed.
housekeeping were instrumental in our success. Lemon Tree Hotel provided me with the insights and
AA1 brought in valuable expertise in food and exposure I had longed for many years. I was also
beverage, and wines (she was not from a hospitality involved in meetings with private equity and fund
background) as well as design, AA2 the head of managers, which helped me understand how to
housekeeping and facilities was a veritable trough of negotiate and secure the best lines of credit.
knowledge and his network of partners across India to Additionally, I had the privilege of working with some of
procure best within limited costs was a distinctive the finest interior designers and architects as we added

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