Hospitality major Tamara Leisure Experiences Private Ltd, owning and running hotels and resorts in India and Germany, is looking at expansion through management contracts, said Shruti Shibulal, Director and Chief Executive Officer, the daughter of S.D Shibulal, one of the Founders of software major Infosys Ltd. She also said working smart and having a work-life balance is more important than putting in specified weekly work hours. The 11-year-old company owns 1,000 room keys under its four brands in India and Germany (where four owned properties are under management contracts).

“In India, we will close 2023 with close to 600 room keys. We are moving towards 1,000 room keys in India,” Shruti said after the launch of the company’s 141-room business hotel `O by Tamara’ in Coimbatore. Tamara Leisure bought an existing hotel property in Coimbatore last year and launched it under its brand after a complete renovation. In India, the company’s properties, hotels, resorts, and Ayurvedic Hospital- are in South India, and going forward, the expansion will happen in other parts of the country, and overseas, the expansion will largely be in Europe.

The company will build a new hotel under its Lilac brand in Bodh Gaya. This is in addition to the upcoming Lilac properties in Tamil Nadu’s Kumbakonam and Velankanni in Kerala’s Guruvayoor and Kannur and the existing two hotels in Bengaluru. “We now have the confidence to get into management contracts with existing hotel owners with our Lilac brand and go for an asset-light expansion model. Talks are already on with some property owners”, she said.

Queried about the rationale for having multiple brands Tamara for resorts, O by Tamara for the business and leisure segment, Lilac for mid-segment, and Amal Tamara, an Ayurvedic Hospital - instead of focusing and growing one or two brands, Shruti said, “It is a brand risk diversification strategy. ”She said that having the company’s hotel properties in Germany being managed by brands like Holiday Inn Express and Courtyard By Marriott is also part of the risk diversification strategy.

Shruti, when queried about the 70 hours per week work, a view expressed by N.R. Narayana Murthy, one of the Co-Founders of Infosys, replied that one should work smart. The work should be smart and collaborative and not the number of hours. And also, work-life balance is important. “In our organization, we value work-life balance,” Shruti, who is the over 1,000 employee Tamara Leisure.