“You must feel like a king, walking down your beautiful palace hotels, right?” I gleefully asked Vivek Nair, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Leela Group of Hotels, as he escorted me to The Great Wall of China for lunch. He looked at me with a small hint of a smile on his face and politely and softly replied, “No, not quite king, but yes I do feel good that we offer our guests a home away from their homes.”

C’est tout, that’s it! No show, no bravado. Calm, composed, quiet and polite, that’s how Vivek Nair, a man who owns some of the most opulent properties in India, is. Intrigued, I ask, “How would you describe yourself?” He pauses for just a moment and replies, “As a person who would like to give serious attention to any endeavour at hand.” “What else?” I persist. “Hoteliering is my profession, I am geared to conceive, set up, operate, and make a success of my hotels.” I give up. Vivek Nair is completely programmed to the life he has dedicated himself to since 1983, which is when he returned from New York where he was living, managing the then family business of garment exports, the famous Leela Lace.

The Nairs got into the business of building hotels thanks to the foresight of Capt. C K P Nair, Vivek’s dad, who at age 83 must be one of the most active and energetic Chairman ever. They owned this huge plot of land at Marol Village since 1923. When it was announced that a new international airport would be coming up at Sahar, Capt. Nair decided to set up a five star hotel on his property, just a stones throw away from the airport terminal.

It was a coup of an idea and the ball got rolling. They tied up with Penta (now Kempinski) and the rest as they say is history. From one grand hotel, to four of the best in the country. Bombay, Goa, Bangalore, Kovalam. With more in the pipeline : the fifth all poised to open in Gurgoan and the sixth in Udaipur soon after. The Leela Madras is already under construction and properties are purchased in Poona and Hyderabad. But the hotels which will come up fastest will be in Agra and Jaipur to complete the ‘Golden Triangle’. As for the one in Delhi, coming up in Chanakyapuri, it is expected to be the piece-de-resistance. Targetted to open by July 2010, just before the CommonWealth Games, this prime property in the Diplomatic Enclave is the talk in hotel circles. The Nairs shelled out Rs. 611 crores for just three acres of land. With stamp duty the cost went to Rs. 650, probably the highest amount ever paid for any land in our country.

All I can think is that Vivek and his wife Lakshmi, and younger brother Dinesh who is Joint Managing Director and his wife Madhu, Director, Interior Designing Operations will all be very, very busy people for the next so many years of their lives.

But in spite of the stupendous task ahead, Vivek won’t have it any other way. The promoter family which owns 53% of the total equity do not believe in being mere investors. Not for them the concept of building hotels and handing them over to franchisees to run the show. Yes, they have the best professional managers, but the control is with Capt. Nair and his two sons who have divided the task force between themselves. “Why should I let someone else control my destiny when I am fully capable of running the show?” Good question. And full marks to you Vivek for enlightening me and pointing out that life is not just about money, or sitting like a puppet in a plush, temperature controlled room, looking at the monthly profit and loss sheet. Glad, it’s just not your style.

I fully understand how Vivek works. Hands on. He is the one who scouts for the property, identifies the location, decides if the venture will be viable, based on demand and supply and then goes ahead developing the project, managing the finances, processing the paper work. It’s unbelievable, but just to start construction you have to have 45 licences passed and in hand!

But such things are not daunting for a seasoned hotelier, what could be however, is the target. Which in Vivek’s case is to be among the top three, if not the best, in every city or town in which a Leela hotel is situated. I am happy to state that my favourite Leela - in Goa has the highest RevPar. (Revenue per available room). Higher by 15% to the 2nd highest, which I found out is the Park Hyatt.

So what about leisure and pleasure, where does all this leave Vivek Nair the person? ‘On hold’ I’d say, judging from the number of times he smiled and answered, “No time” to all my queries pertaining to the subject of R and R. However, he emphasized, what he does make a point to do, is not travel over week-ends and always eat at home, (which is a bungalow next door to The Leela and it’s almost always Kerala meals) whenever he is in Bombay. He certainly doesn’t party hard and in fact you won’t often see him in public either. But yes, his children have his full attention. And all three have their careers carved out. They will join the family business. Amruda, his eldest daughter, a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, is currently in Singapore honing her financial abilities at Jones Lang La Salle. Aishwarya his second daughter is studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts and Food Services from the Culinary Institute of America in New York. She has just finished a Sommelier’s course too. Aushim, the youngest of the siblings is just 17 and at the American School in Bombay.

I had one last question for Vivek. “If a fairy waved her magic wand and granted you 10 days off, where would you holiday?” Looked like such thoughts never occured to him. “Err…hmm... Dubai, I suppose…” Dubai! I am surprised. From the whole, wide, beautiful, mysterious, exotic world! “Yes, I suppose. One can rest there and also go shopping.” Vivek Nair, I learnt, likes to buy his own shirts. Simple, genuine, hardworking, that’s Vivek Nair.