Hot Seat

On the Himalayan trail

Being in the hotel industry for over three decades, Ashok Khanna, managing director of IHHR Hospitality, has seen it all. But he believes there are peaks yet to be conquered, finds Sanjeev Bhar

I am greeted with an enchanting smile - a trademark of Ashok Khanna and a style perfectly in sync with his flagship brand 'Ananda'. His brainchild - Ananda in the Himalayas - voted by Condé Nast Traveller as the world's best destination spa, second year in succession - has become symbolic of Indian spas. What's surprising is that Khanna says that he had never planned to become an entrepreneur. After schooling at Doon School in Dehradun, he went on to graduate in Bachelor of Science from Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Ithaca. "Both my father and grandfather had a strong professional association with the hospitality industry and were the brand identity of the Oberoi Group. All I wanted to do was get into that industry and I started working towards that goal," he says.

The Oberoi association

During his tenure at Cornell University, Khanna worked as an executive assistant with the VP (F&B) of Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head, South Carolina, which introduced him to the intricacies of the department. His stint with the Oberoi Group, that lasted more than two decades, began when he came back to India in 1974. He joined the Oberoi Towers, Mumbai overseeing the operational aspects of the hotel. He was later promoted to a project manager in 1976 and was responsible for the entire project development. Over the next decade, he was in charge of several Oberoi properties as projects director. Thereafter, Khanna was made president and CEO of Indus Hotels - a subsidiary of the Oberoi Group established to promote medium range hotels in the country.

While he was sharpening his skills, Khanna was clear that he wanted to venture out alone. He avers, “I figured there is a need for health and wellness spa with rising stress levels of professional life. Moreover, tourism was getting liberalised and more flights were landing into India."

Setting up IHHR Hospitality was a tough call, but he followed his instincts. His success can be described in one word - foresightedness. He saw a potential market for health-wellness-luxury hospitality, (better known as destination spa today) at a time when it was an unknown concept in India. With the continuous support of his father, Khanna clinched a deal with the maharaja at Narendra Nagar, Tehri-Garhwal for his future Ananda. "We renovated parts of the palace and built the rest of it. The spa was finally launched in September 2000," informs Khanna.

The human side

Khanna believes that the human resource of an organisation holds the key to its prosperity and growth, which is why he absorbs students from hotel management institutes and trains them to suit the group's requirements. "We have also set up an institute especially for spa training in Hyderabad," he reveals. As an entrepreneur, Khanna is constantly learning. He recalls, "You have to learn how to fly once you have jumped off the cliff. The first two years of Ananda were scary," avers Khanna. Today, the group is planning spa resorts in cities as well. On the personal front, Khanna enjoys travelling but is averse to business trips. "I detest the long wait at airports and hovering above airports in planes waiting for permission to land," he quips. Presently Khanna is enjoying every bit of his success and the challenges that come his way. But he is in no mood to take it easy. He concludes, "I want to see the company grow internationally."