Infy co-founder’s daughter bats for smart working

CHENNAI: Tamara Leisure Experiences Private Ltd owning and running hotels, resorts in India and Germany, is looking at expansion through management contracts, said Shruti Shibulal, director and CEO, the daughter of SD Shibulal, one of the founders of software major Infosys.

She also said working smart and having a work-life balance is more important than putting in specified hours of work per week.

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 be closing 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 rooms business hotel ‘O by Tamara’ in Coimbatore on Tuesday. 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 would happen in other parts of the country and overseas the expansion will largely be in Europe. The company will be building a new hotel under its Lilac brand in Bodh Gaya. This is in addition to the upcoming Lilac properties in Kumbakonam and Velankanni and in Kerala’s Guruvayoor and Kannur and existing two hotels in Bengaluru.

The multiple brands are part of risk diversification strategy, she said. Queried about the 70 hour per week work a view expressed by NR Narayana Murthy, she replied that one should work smart. It should be collaborative and the number of hours must not be the criteria.