A Hospitality Brand For All Seasons

Riaz Ahmed, MD, Abad Hotels & Resorts, is the son of a seafood exporter who ventured into the capital-intensive hotel business without doing much homework. But he never had to look back. However, in the process of setting up properties one after the other all over Kerala he made it a point not to compromise on values like quality and customer care. As the head of one of the most popular brands in hospitality in Kerala, Riaz opens up to Destination Kerala on the group’s journey so far, future plans including going for an IPO, challenges posed by ‘over-tourism’, impact of GST and a host of other issues.

 

- Arya Aravind

Kerala, God’s Own Country, is a kaleidoscope of bewitching beaches, exotic hill stations, vibrant wildlife sanctuaries, serene backwaters and bustling, yet calm cities. However, there are only a few hotel chains that have presence in all these destinations. And, Abad Hotels & Resorts is one among those which touches almost all these tourist hotspots. One would expect the owner of 11 hotels and resorts to be overweening and effusive about the business and his achievements. But Riaz Ahmed, MD, Abad Hotels & Resorts, is unassuming and soft-spoken. Clad in a striped blue shirt and sporting a disarming smile, he sat in his modest wood-panelled office on the first floor of Abad Plaza in Kochi and answered our queries with sincerity and conviction.

The son of a seafood merchant who made a fortune in the export business, Riaz ventured into the capital-intensive hotel business decades ago without doing much homework. Thirty-five years after launching the first hotel at Chullickal in Fort Kochi, and investing around Rs. 500 crore in the hospitality/tourism sector in Kerala to-date, Riaz is now readying his 11th property coming up in Wayanad which will be launched at SATTE (South Asia Travel and Tourism Exhibition) at New Delhi in January 2018. Brookeside Lakkidi will be a 30-room property which is spread over an area of six-and-a-half acres. The Group had purchased an existing property and is refurbishing it into a breathtakingly beautiful resort at an investment of Rs. 18-20 crore.