Prithviraj Singh Oberoi is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EIH Limited, the flagship company of The Oberoi Group. He is also the Chairman of Oberoi Hotels Private Limited, the major shareholder of EIH Limited. Popularly known as "Biki", Mr. Oberoi is the son of late Rai Bahadur M.S. Oberoi, the founder of The Oberoi Group.
He graduated with a degree in Hospitality from the University Of Lausanne, Switzerland and has over 60 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Mr. Oberoi has been instrumental in pioneering the growth of the Company.
He is known for using novel strategies that have become a boon to the business of Oberois-making himself indispensable to the company and proving himself as a worthy heir of the great empire.In addition to providing leadership for the management of luxury hotels in several countries, Mr. Oberoi has been instrumental in pioneering the development of the new Oberoi hotels and resorts. The "Oberoi" brand has come to represent fine luxury hotels.
The interesting thing about his life is that upto his 32nd year, he did absolutely nothing except roaming all around the world. He spent his time in 5 star hotels in London, Rome, Paris, New York, Tokyo etc. in hotels like Claridges, Crillon(Paris), Hassler etc. All of these were encouraged by his father just for one reason, which was to understand the standards of service provided around the world. This way he thought he could better serve the clients by reaching their expectation levels.
He revealed that after he finished his studies, he travelled to almost every major country in the world and stayed in their best hotels where he had the firsthand experience of sampling their best, from great food to awesome services. Squeezed from all these years of travel, he took back the rich experience of the world to his father's business and strived to boost it up than before. He took to his father's ability of a businessman and brought in with him higher goals for the Oberoi Group.
When his elder brother Tilak Raj (Tikki) died in 1984, the weight of succession fell heavily on Biki. (M.S. died in 2002 at the age of 103.) Biki proved his talents in the construction of the Oberoi, Mumbai. When it opened in 1986 it redefined the idea of a business hotel: Instead of banquet halls, glittering lobbies and big chandeliers that were a fixture in Indian five-star hotels, it presented understated elegance--and had an exclusive, by-invitation-only club for executives.
Today, the Oberoi brand is synonymous with luxury, but that wasn't always the case. Back in the mid-1970s, when the financial journal Institutional Investor rated hotels, no Indian establishment ever made the cut, and that rankled Oberoi Sr., who told his son that the quality quotient of their hotels had to be dramatically upped. Bikki Oberoi took his father's words to heart. It is Mr. Oberoi’s firm belief that people are the most valuable asset of any organisation. Recognising the importance of quality in hospitality management, Mr. Oberoi established ‘The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development’ at New Delhi in 1966. Today, this institution is considered amongst the best in Asia.
Biki believes that owners should make their customers come back to them by developing trust and loyalty for their services. In fact, once a foreigner complained to Biki about problems he faced in the hotel like having to adjust with a dirty table, having an alarm in a very bad working condition and getting a wrong fax number from the management and the like. In reaction to this, Biki wrote back to the foreigner asking to be excused for the bad service. He not only returned the entire amount, but also gave him an offer to stay in any one of their hotels for a period of four days, free of cost.
Bikki Oberoi has made a huge contribution to the hospitality industry, which has made India one of the best in the hotel business in the world. Today Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi looks after the 66-year old Oberoi chain that has 28 hotels and three luxury yatchs in five countries. In 2011, P.R.S. Declared his son Vikram Oberoi as the heir of the Oberoi Group.
He graduated with a degree in Hospitality from the University Of Lausanne, Switzerland and has over 60 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Mr. Oberoi has been instrumental in pioneering the growth of the Company.
He is known for using novel strategies that have become a boon to the business of Oberois-making himself indispensable to the company and proving himself as a worthy heir of the great empire.In addition to providing leadership for the management of luxury hotels in several countries, Mr. Oberoi has been instrumental in pioneering the development of the new Oberoi hotels and resorts. The "Oberoi" brand has come to represent fine luxury hotels.
The interesting thing about his life is that upto his 32nd year, he did absolutely nothing except roaming all around the world. He spent his time in 5 star hotels in London, Rome, Paris, New York, Tokyo etc. in hotels like Claridges, Crillon(Paris), Hassler etc. All of these were encouraged by his father just for one reason, which was to understand the standards of service provided around the world. This way he thought he could better serve the clients by reaching their expectation levels.
He revealed that after he finished his studies, he travelled to almost every major country in the world and stayed in their best hotels where he had the firsthand experience of sampling their best, from great food to awesome services. Squeezed from all these years of travel, he took back the rich experience of the world to his father's business and strived to boost it up than before. He took to his father's ability of a businessman and brought in with him higher goals for the Oberoi Group.
When his elder brother Tilak Raj (Tikki) died in 1984, the weight of succession fell heavily on Biki. (M.S. died in 2002 at the age of 103.) Biki proved his talents in the construction of the Oberoi, Mumbai. When it opened in 1986 it redefined the idea of a business hotel: Instead of banquet halls, glittering lobbies and big chandeliers that were a fixture in Indian five-star hotels, it presented understated elegance--and had an exclusive, by-invitation-only club for executives.
Today, the Oberoi brand is synonymous with luxury, but that wasn't always the case. Back in the mid-1970s, when the financial journal Institutional Investor rated hotels, no Indian establishment ever made the cut, and that rankled Oberoi Sr., who told his son that the quality quotient of their hotels had to be dramatically upped. Bikki Oberoi took his father's words to heart. It is Mr. Oberoi’s firm belief that people are the most valuable asset of any organisation. Recognising the importance of quality in hospitality management, Mr. Oberoi established ‘The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development’ at New Delhi in 1966. Today, this institution is considered amongst the best in Asia.
Biki believes that owners should make their customers come back to them by developing trust and loyalty for their services. In fact, once a foreigner complained to Biki about problems he faced in the hotel like having to adjust with a dirty table, having an alarm in a very bad working condition and getting a wrong fax number from the management and the like. In reaction to this, Biki wrote back to the foreigner asking to be excused for the bad service. He not only returned the entire amount, but also gave him an offer to stay in any one of their hotels for a period of four days, free of cost.
Bikki Oberoi has made a huge contribution to the hospitality industry, which has made India one of the best in the hotel business in the world. Today Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi looks after the 66-year old Oberoi chain that has 28 hotels and three luxury yatchs in five countries. In 2011, P.R.S. Declared his son Vikram Oberoi as the heir of the Oberoi Group.
Awards and Accolades
- In 2001, His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco personally awarded Mr. Oberoi the Grand Officer of the Alalaoui Wissam.
- The 6th International Hotels Investment Forum in Berlin honoured Mr. Oberoi with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in March 2003.
- In January 2004, Mr. Oberoi was conferred a Special Award by the Department of Tourism, Government of India.
- In October 2005, the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) honoured Mr. Oberoi with the Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual Conference in Hong Kong.
- Lifetime Achievement Award at the CNBC TV 18 India Business Leader Awards 2007.
- In January 2008, Mr. Oberoi was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.
- Hall of Fame Award at the Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) in February 2009.
- Corporate Hotelier of the World award by HOTELS magazine in 2010.
References: forbes.com; oberoihotels.com; bharatenterpreneurs.com ; iloveindia.comPhotos Courtesy: Google Images
Photos Courtesy: Google Images
Photos Courtesy: Google Images