Biki Oberoi, the hotel magnate who embodied fine living

livemint.com:

EIH Ltd., which runs the eponymous hotel chain. His death brings to an end two generations of the family that built the Oberoi empire into an Indian hospitality powerhouse with a significant global footprint. Mohan Singh Oberoi, the man who started it all in 1934, passed away in 2002 and Tilak Raj, his older son, died prematurely in 1984.

Since then Biki was the man who steered the chain through its ups and downs, all the while ensuring that the Oberoi name continued to spell the finest in hospitality. Today, many of its properties are listed among the world’s best hotels. After a slump during the years when the pandemic battered the hotel industry, EIH’s performance has shown a dramatic turnaround, with FY23 consolidated revenue at ₹2,096 crore, up 101% year-on-year, and a net profit of ₹329 crore, up a whopping 446%.

An indulgent but wise father ensured that his younger son learnt the business by living the life of his customers. Thus, after his education abroad he spent years traversing the globe, staying at the best hotels and sampling their service and product standards first hand. When the mantle of leadership fell upon him at the age of 40, he brought to his job the distilled learning of those personal experiences with the result that getting a morning cup of tea right is more important to those who run it than the artwork on display in the lobby.