TASTE OF SUCCESS
JYOTSNA SURI IS LEADING THE GROUP TO A 1,200 CRORE IPO.
Jyotsna Suri started her journey more than three decades ago with Bharat Hotels, the parent of The LaLiT luxury chain. After the death of her husband Lalit Suri, she took over the reins at the homegrown hospitality brand. Now, Suri is about to take ` 645 crore hotel chain to the next level. The company has recently filed for a
` 1,200 crore IPO with the capital markets regulator SEBI, which will place it in the big league of established brands such as The Indian Hotels Company and The Oberoi Hotels.
According to the 2017 trends and opportunities report by New York-based hotel consultancy firm HVS, The LaLiT is the 15th largest hospitality brand in the country in terms of hotel rooms. For Suri, who oversaw the group’s rebranding exercise in 2008, things are certainly looking up. After a long down cycle, the hospitality sector is showing early signs of recovery – occupancies have risen above 65 per cent on a pan-India basis and there is a marginal improvement in average room rates as well.
Bharat Hotels, which operates 14 properties, is one of the best-placed brands among its peers to capitalise on the next up cycle in the hospitality sector, which many experts believe has already begun.
WHY SHE MATTERS The group’s rebranding exercise, which started in 2008 under her leadership, has led to steady growth