Ahead of the homestay game

For as long as she can remember, Sheela Yadav used to host large gatherings of friends and families frequently at the farmhouse at Rangmanch Farms in Gurugram. Their friends and acquaintances would make a beeline to visit the property, spread over 12 acres, in their quest to disconnect from the digital world and immerse themselves in nature. 

So, the shift to hospitality by converting the farmhouse into a resort was a no brainer for Yadav. After all, how many people get a chance to find work in an area that is their passion.

“Getting into the hospitality sector at our farmhouse was a joint family decision after several brainstorming sessions. While we were aware of the large initial capital investment, the extremely high operating cost monthly took us by surprise. However, we have been able to rationalize the operating cost over a while,” she stated.

THE BIG HUSTLE

She started her entrepreneurial journey early on with her own landscape development and maintenance firm and a plant nursery. So, she was already adept at multitasking. Yadav soon realized that managing a resort with a high flow of customers, and every single one expecting exceptional service, is very different from managing a landscape development firm with a few institutional clients.

“We at Rangmanch Farms were fortunate to get an extremely talented team at senior level, who now self-manage most aspects of the business. However, the initial few months were extremely challenging, with frequent breakdowns due to lack of skilled workforce,” she recalled. 

Since starting Rangmanch Farms in early 2021, Yadav has been on a constant self-realisation journey. Her most significant learning was that one couldn’t do everything alone. 

“You need a very skilled team that you delegate most of the responsibility areas to and trust them. While the COVID-19 waves have been tough for everyone, including us, we were fortunate enough to cherry-pick excellent available talent, affected by COVID induced downturn in hospitality,” she mentioned candidly.

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

The outskirts of Gurugram and the NCR region are peppered with several farmhouses. Many of these converted into homestays and resorts over the years. Positioning Rangmanch as a unique entity in this crowded space was not an easy task. 

Yadav did a recce of these properties and soon realized that most farms were offering similar experiences. During a dipstick survey, she felt there was an unmet demand for a place that offered something unique, with quality and service levels that guests are nowadays used to, without putting a massive dent in their pockets.

So, the team at Rangmanch Farms doubled down on offering quality guest service at all touchpoints. Soon, visitors noticed and appreciated it and recommended the place as a better alternative. Yadav is proud that this growth has been pretty organic, with word of mouth playing a significant role.

However, three months after the property’s launch, the pandemic struck when things appeared to be rosy. Since Rangmanch Farms had just begun operations, it was relatively more straightforward to shut down during the first lockdown. However, Yadav ensured that it was amongst the first farms to reopen when the lockdown was lifted. 

“There were days when guest turnout was in low single digits. More than anything, it was pretty tough to keep staff motivated, that was used to and enjoyed serving a large number of guests with a smile,” she recollected while talking about those tough months. “We deployed a lot of our capital to ensure that operations were unhampered and that we don’t compromise on guest experience, despite low guest turnout.”

While the first year of business was a huge roller-coaster ride for Yadav, she also learned some tough business lessons along the way. Now, she is striving to create robust standard operating procedures, deploy more employee friendly policies and employee engagement activities, and implement more automated internal systems and processes. 

“This will enable us to manage our operations smoothly and minimise the firefighting situations we found ourselves in last year. At the same time, guest centricity will remain the priority, and we will strive to improve and expand the experiences and activities that a guest can enjoy at Rangmanch Farms,” she proclaimed. 

Perfection is nothing but constantly seeking to improve oneself. When customers are relentless in their exacting expectations, which keep rising, Yadav is also striving to stay ahead of this curve.