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to continue.

For the 84 year old Capt Nair, his entry

into the glitzy world of hoteliering truly

began at home. Or actually, next door.

After journeying to Mumbai, he established

himself as a exporter of handlooms which

were made at his family’s mill in his home-

town. The famous ‘Bleeding Madras’

which was a great success in the US, was

also his creation. By the seventies, he had

diversified into handloom garments and

had set up Leela Fashions, which manufac-

tured for some of the worlds’ biggest labels

such as Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren, Calvin

Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. He was also in

lace. In 1963, intent on buying a suburban

plot for setting-up a lace factory for Leela

Lace, he purchased a large plot with a

rambling colonial style house in Andheri, a

quiet northwestern Mumbai suburb.

But far from becoming a retreat, the

location of the house was instrumental in

triggering off the idea to enter the hospital-

ity business. The spark was lit in the late

‘70s when a new international airport for

the city was sited a stone’s throw away

from the Nair residence. “The decision to

enter the hotel business was chiefly loca-

tion-based,” recalls Nair. “There were loca-

tional advantages as we were close to the

electronic export zone and there were also

some industrial belts not too far away. It

was a place where luxury hotel accommo-

dation was non-existent. We felt a five-

star hotel was the need of the area. Our

land also had the added advantage of prox-

imity to both the domestic and internation-

al airports and the fast developing industri-

al belts of north Mumbai.”

So cottoning on to the concept of air-

port hotels, Nair leased the adjacent plot of

land and began construction of The Leela

Kempinski. Part of the property on which

his bungalow stood got seamlessly merged

with the hotel’s and Nair, ever since, just

walks across to office. As a green-at-heart

and orchid-lover, Nair simultaneously

began work on the landscaping, not only of

the hotel’s gardens but also of the entire

area. The result was that when the hotel

opened in April 1987 — it was initially the

Leela Penta — it was set amidst 11 acres

of lush landscaped gardens, cascading

waterfalls, lotus pools and fountains.

These gardens continue to draw accolades

from guests and have won Nair several

awards, such as the Global Laureate

Award from the United Nations

Environment Program and the Green

Hotelier Award in 1996 from the

International Hotel and Restaurant

Association, Paris.

The Penta collaboration has a very

interesting story. “We were in Washington

tying up our loan facilities with the

International Finance Corporation, an affili-

ate of World Bank, when we got an offer

from the Penta group, which was owned

by Lufthansa, British Airways and

Swissair. It so happened that the vice

chairman of the IFC was associated with

the Penta chain and he suggested a tie-

FINETUNING THE ART OF SELLING LUXURY: Capt Nair at his home, Mumbai; facing page, The Leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore, at night



ENTERPRISE

struction’ deluxe hotel near New Delhi

which will have 319 rooms plus 90 serv-iced residences. When that becomes oper-

ational in April 2007, it will give

Leelaventure a presence in a third major

metro. Two months later, The Leela Palace

Udaipur will open with 77 rooms on the

banks of Lake Pichola. Thereafter,

‘palaces’ will be opening up in Chennai

(400 rooms), Hyderabad (320) and Pune,

the increasingly important IT city 180 km

southeast of Mumbai (280). By 2009,

when all these hotels will be functional,

they will add 1500 rooms to make

Leelaventure a 2700-plus room major.

Arelative newcomer to the business,

Nair has always been a contrarian.

When all hotels in Mumbai were located

downtown, Nair built his at the other end

of the city, near the airport. When all the

hotels in sun-drenched Goa were in the

northern end of the former Portuguese

enclave, Nair chose his site at the southern

end - which has now become an upmarket

destination. In all his expansion plans, Nair

has spared no effort, and cost, to give his

guests the feel of staying in an Indian

palace. And he has insisted that in design,each property should have reflect ‘The

essence of India’ in its ambience, instead

of a cookie-cutter contemporary look.

The Leela Goa has been designed by

Hawaiian designer Tom Puglioso, and

emphasises the former colony’s

Portuguese historic influences and Indian

heritage. Bangalore’s The Leela Palace

Kempinski has been designed by the

California-based firm Wimberly Allison

Tong and Goo, which has to its credit the

other famous Palace Hotel in Sun City,

South Africa; The Palace of the Lost City.

It recreates the grandeur of the bygone

Vijayanagar Empire.

A lot of Nair’s focus on luxury is cur-

rently being shaped by Leelaventure’s 54-

year old President Peter Leitgeb, who

joined the group two years ago. An

Austrian by nationality, Leitgeb’s aim is to

make Leela the No. 1 luxury hotel marquee

in India in the next five years. Leitgeb,

who has had 18 years of experience with

the Kempinski and the Steinberger Group

hotels around the world, has initiated a

$20 million upgradation programme at The

Leela Kempinski in Mumbai and a similar$10 million effort in Bangalore, for the

expansion of 120 guestrooms. He is also

detailing a $10 million outlay for creating

health spas in the group’s properties. To

beef up Leelaventure’s marketing muscle,

Leitgeb is leveraging his European connec-

tions. He has appointed general sales

agents in London and Frankfurt, and is tap-

ping Kempinski to make Leelaventure the

Indian hotel of choice to the global chain’s

patrons.

Leitgeb’s involvement has eased the

pressure on Nair. That leaves him with

more time to fraternise with his celebrity

guests, like the Dalai Lama and Bill Clinton

and also time to savour the awards that

have come his way. The most recent, and

distinguished awards, have been the 2005

PATA Award of Merit for leadership in the

industry and the Lifetime Achievement

Award by the American Academy of

Hospitality Sciences.

Nowadays, Nair spends more time in

his garden than at work, doing what he

loves best; growing orchids.

NETWORKING HIS EUROPEAN HOTEL CONNECTIONS: Peter Leitgeb aims to make The Leela the No.1 luxury hotel marque

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