As the granddaughter of the legendary (late) Capt Nair, founder of The Leela Group, Amruda Nair was born with a platter to rule the hospitality roost in India. After honing her skills in Oriental New York and JLLH, in 2015, Amruda established Aiana Hotel & Resorts in a JV with Qatar’s eminent businessman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani. Perfectly pegged under the Greenfield project, Aiana, says Amruda, “focuses on the domestic traveller in the country – a segment that is expected to rise by 7.2% per annum.” The shift in strategy, explains the seasoned analyst, “was due to the increasing demand in urban consumption and high disposable incomes that remain the bright spots against a slow recovering economy.” Aiana Group is focusing on building weekend retreats located within 3-4 hour driving radius of the major cities. “Our focus in India is to add to our existing portfolio in Kerala and Karnataka with properties in Goa, Jaipur and Agra,” concludes the Leela scion, who group owns 1000 rooms and 8 under construction hotels between the Middle East and India, including a 180-key hotel in Doha and a 150-room hotel in Agra that will have a view of the Taj Mahal.
