Can you explain your Africa story?
Our Africa story happened fifteen years ago. I knew nothing about Nairobi and its hotel market. But someone was opening a hotel then and was looking for an Indian hotel management company and we grabbed the opportunity. That’s how Nairobi story took off for us.
Something interesting that I would like to share is- we cannot use the Sarovar brand in Kenya because the latter has a company named ‘Sarova’. We just use our ‘Infinity’ symbol there and mention ‘operated by Sarovar Hotels’ under it. There is a tremendous amount of potential in this part of the world and Sarovar is growing strong ever since.
Which country has been on your list?
I want to be in the UAE for sure. We were there a couple of years ago and our hotels went from two to three and then we were going to graduate to the four-star hotel category. But that didn’t work out and we pulled out. But, every time I look at the Middle East, people have always asked for a lease model, which we don’t work on or financial participation, which we won’t do outside the country. But Dubai/ Middle East will certainly be the next thing for us for the simple reason that I can source business and talent from both Africa and India.
This story is from the January - February 2020 edition of Hospitality Talk.
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This story is from the January - February 2020 edition of Hospitality Talk.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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