Brand new vision

Third-generation Indian hotelier Amruda Nair has signed a joint venture agreement with Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, chairman of Al Sawari Holding and Qatari Business Association to create Aiana Hotels & Resorts.

Inspired by her entrepreneurial grandfather who started The Leela in India at the age of 65, Nair is partnering with Al Fasial Holding, Qatar’s leading commercial conglomerate, to create a next-generation hospitality brand of lifestyle hotels built for the Indian and Middle Eastern traveller that caters to ‘aspirational luxury’.

Nair, who is the joint managing director and chief executive officer of Aiana Hotels & Resorts, spoke to TTN staff after inking the deal and said that the brand would target "savvy travellres" with authentic experoiences.

"With the launch of Aiana Hotels and Resorts, I am delighted to be introducing a brand I am confident will become the preferred choice of travellers seeking authentic and immersive experiences that will stay with them long after they have checked out."

Nair’s education, coupled with her upbringing and work experience, take her beyond her young years and should go a long way to prepare her for the new and challenging role.

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in international hospitality management at the CHN University in The Netherlands, she pursued her masters in hospitality management at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration in New York.

"I grew up in a hotel, it is an environment I am most comfortable with," says the young entrepreneur, whose childhood home was in the backyard of the luxurious Leela Mumbai.

The new joint venture company Aiana Hotels & Resorts will embody a hospitality brand of upper upscale hotels and leading operator of hotels, resorts and serviced apartments in the Middle East, Indian Sub-Continent and South East Asia.

Both partners share the common vision of creating a brand that will appeal to young professionals and global travellers and provide its guests with unique, and enriching experiences, as well as bringing the first Asian-inspired hotel to Qatar.

To mark the launch, Aiana Hotels & Resorts unveiled the visual identity of the brand.

Aiana, meaning "eternal blossom" in Sanskrit also means a place of refuge or retreat.

The joint venture, with both partners having an equal share, will be based in Doha, Qatar.

"I was fortunate to meet Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani who shared my passion for hospitality and supported my dreams and ambitions of creating an Indian brand with a global presence. Our service, design, and operating philosophy is geared to exceed the expectations of a new generation of savvy travellers," she says.

"We call it Hospitality 2.0."

By Rashi Sen