Vikram Oberoi

As the son of Mr PRS Oberoi and scion of the Oberoi hospitality empire along with his cousin, Arjun, Vikram Oberoi, the CEO & MD, EIH Ltd. has an innate passion for the discreet world of luxury hotels and an unerring eye for detail. He has risen from the ranks, working closely with his father. He learnt the fine nuances of running luxury hotels as general manager of The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, in 1997.

Since then, Oberoi has held several management positions with the group and helped re-engineer systems to ensure that The Oberoi Group is future ready. Several Oberoi properties have gone on to win accolades not just in India, but even internationally. The group hotels have also won several Readers Choice Awards given by global travel magazine brands. Vikram has attributed The Oberoi Group’s success to their focus on guests, their needs, desires and experiences.

“What we have always said is, let’s focus on our guests, let’s focus on our people and let’s always do what is right. Let’s follow the values that were started by Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi, reinforced by Mr PRS Oberoi and now enshrined in our Dharma (The Oberoi code of ethics). When we have to make difficult decisions, our approach is always let’s take the right decision, not the easiest decision. From my perspective, our culture, our values, the commitment we have to our guests, the commitment we have to our people is of paramount importance and that will never change.”

Focused on the operations end of the business, Oberoi believes that tourism and hospitality are no longer seen as elitist businesses, given their potential to generate employment. Open to operating hotels on management contracts, Oberoi said, “If we are going to expand at a faster rate, we will look at management contracts because that’s the best way to leverage our goodwill and brand. Most of our upcoming ventures are going to be asset light.”