Say It Again, Partner

Small luxury hoteliers and developers can forge healthy partnerships if they communicate their expectations clearly at the project's onset, Ashish Vohra, founder and CEO of jüSTa Hotels & Resorts informs Vinita Bhatia.

- Ashish Vohra

Many professionals who had the opportunity to work closely with PRS 'Biki' Oberoi, a doyen of India’s hospitality industry and the face of The Oberoi Group, would have been happy to continue doing so till they retired. However, Ashish Vohra, who was the regional sales director for the company’s Northern region, wanted more out from life.

He felt there was great potential in the concept of serviced apartments as India’s corporate atmosphere was buoyant, especially in metros. “Mr Oberoi had given me around INR 50 lakh to buy a house in Bangalore. So, I sold it and took a building on lease in Bangalore in 2005 to start jüSTa Hotels & Resorts,” Vohra recalled.

THE WATERSHED MOMENT

During a vacation in Italy, Vohra stayed in boutique hotels and realised that India didn’t have small luxury hotels differentiated by personalised offerings. He later visited Hong Kong on the invitation of his friend, Elaine Young, founder and CEO of Shama Serviced Apartments, which gave him clarity about the service levels that Indian customers expected when it came to service apartments.

“Indians simply pay for the key and not necessarily for the entire room space, which is why this stay concept has not taken off here as much as in China, Hong Kong or Thailand,” Vohra explained. “Also, real estate cost in India is very high. If land cost is almost 45% to 55% of the project and you have less number of keys with moderate returns, your internal rate of return (IRR) will never match that of a commercial development. Hence, you see fewer serviced apartments in India as compared to hotels.”