Daughter of Infosys Co-founder, Shruti Shibulal talks about her luxury resorts – Tamara Coorg

An MBA graduate from the Columbia Business School, Shruti completed her undergraduate degree from Haverford College. After a short stint in the Finance industry in the US, passion for hospitality led her to co-found Avant Garde Hospitality, which operates two of Bangalore’s most celebrated restaurants, Caperberry and Fava. In 2009 she received the Star Youth Achiever Award at the Global Marketing Forum. She found her true calling at ‘The Tamara Coorg, nestling in the misty hills. Beyond the three properties that Tamara currently operates in India under Shruti’s leadership, it owns three properties in Germany, which are leased out. Holiday Inn Express, a business hotel in Guetersloh, Prizeotel, a 211-room business hotel in Hannover, and Courtyard by Marriot, in Wolfsberg. All the three hotels are owned but not operated by the group and run on lease.

Explaining the group’s diversification strategy, Shruti says, “We are aiming to be a diversified player with a presence in luxury, mid-segment and the upscale business hotels. We are hoping for a larger role in the mid-segment, particularly in the South. As religious travel and tourism constitute 80% of domestic travel, to start with, we are developing a property in Guruvayur. The other segment in which The Tamara operates is Lilac, a premier service apartment. Other projects in the pipeline are Lilac Hotels in Bangalore and Palma Laguna, a boutique Ayurveda resort in the backwaters of Alappuzha which will be re-launched over the next two years. “We currently have about five new properties in the pipeline and by 2025 we are aiming to have 1000 keys,” added Shruti.

Speaking about her pet project, Shruti says, “We will be launching a 150-room business hotel in Thiruvananthapuram by the end of 2018. This project is close to my heart and I have ensured that the construction is carried out so as to maximise energy efficiency and reduce wastage, instead of the heat-trapping glass facades that are prevalent nowadays. This hotel is expected to receive a green rating from GRIHA( Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment).