M.S. OBERAI

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Rai Bahadur M.S. Oberoi

Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi (M.S. Oberoi) was a renowned Indian hotelier,also known as the father of the Indian hotel industry.

Early Life

Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi was born on 15th August, 1898 in erstwhile undividedPunjab, which is now in Pakistan. He was only six months old when his father died.

Success and fortune did not, therefore, come easily to him. Initiative, resourcefulness

and hard work, combined with the capability to face and overcome the most overwhelming odds can best characterize this phenomenal entrepreneur.

Mr. M.S. Oberoi completed his primary education in Rawalpindi and moved to Lahorefor his Bachelor’s degree. Shortly thereafter, to flee the ravages of a virulent plague, he

went to seek his fortune in Shimla, the summer capital of British India. Arrivingpenniless, he found a job at a monthly salary of INR 50, as the front desk clerk at theCecil Hotel. Today, The Oberoi Group owns the hotel The Oberoi Cecil where the youngMr. Oberoi found his métier.

The diligence, enthusiasm and intelligence displayed by Mr. Oberoi impressed Mr.

Grove, the manager of the hotel. A quick learner, Mr. Oberoi did not restrict his efforts tofulfilling the job description of a desk clerk but sought and shouldered additional

responsibilities. A few years later, when Mr. Clarke acquired a small hotel he asked Mr.

Oberoi to assist him. It was here, at Clarkes Hotel, that Mr. Oberoi gained firsthandexperience in all aspects of operating a hotel.

Budding Entrepreneur

In 1934, Mr. Oberoi acquired his first property, The Clarkes Hotel, from his mentor bymortgaging his wife’s jewellery and all his assets. Four years later, he signed a lease to

take over operations of the five hundred rooms Grand Hotel in Calcutta that was on sale

following a cholera epidemic. With his customary confidence and sheer determinationto succeed, he was able to convert this hotel into a highly profitable business venture.

Over several years, Mr. Oberoi had purchased shares in Associated Hotels of India (AHI),which owned Cecil and Corstophans hotels in Shimla, Maidens and Imperial hotels inDelhi and a hotel each in Lahore, Murree, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. In 1943, Mr. Oberoi

acquired controlling interest in AHI. He thus became the first Indian to run the country’s

largest and finest hotel chain. In the tumultuous years just prior to Indian

independence, Mr. Oberoi met and intimately interacted with the would-be leaders of Free India, all of whom were, at one time or other, guests at his hotels.

International Pioneer

Having consolidated his early ventures, Mr. Oberoi became the first Indian hotelier toenter into an agreement with an internationally renowned hotel chain, to open the first



modern, five-star hotel in the country. The Oberoi Inter Continental, in New Delhi

opened in 1965. The I-Con, as it became popularly known, offered facilities that no otherhotel in the country matched and was India’s first luxury hotel.

This achievement was enhanced with the opening of the 35-storey Oberoi Sheraton in

Bombay, in 1973. Mr. Oberoi was the first Indian to work in association withinternational chains to woo international travellers to India. This led to a heavy influx of international travellers and foreign occupancy soared to an average of 85%. Thisenabled the Oberoi Hotels to significantly contribute to India’s foreign exchange

earnings.

Another pioneering landmark was the establishment in 1966 of the prestigious Oberoi

School of Hotel Management, recognised by the International Hotel Association in Paris.Considered India’s premier institute, the school is now known as The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development and continues to provide high quality professional training

in hospitality management.

Other notable firsts were the decision to employ women in his hotels and to establish achain of ancillary industries producing and supplying items like consumables andstationery to ensure the highest quality. The Oberoi Group was also the first to start

flight catering operations in India, in 1959. The Oberoi Flight Services, located in New

Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin and Chennai, provide in-flight meals of international quality toreputed airlines.

Mr. Oberoi realised that the hotel and hospitality business is greatly dependent on

travel agents, a vital element in the distribution chain. Therefore, he decided to establishhis own travel agency. Mercury Travels, part of The Oberoi Group, ranks amongst the

leading travel agencies in India.

With vision and imagination, Mr. Oberoi converted old and dilapidated palaces,

historical monuments and buildings into magnificent hotels such as The Oberoi Grandin Calcutta, the historic Mena House Oberoi in Cairo and The Windsor in Australia. It was, in fact, in the face of severe opposition that the State Government of Victoria

awarded Mr. Oberoi the lease of The Windsor, a heritage building in Melbourne. He

personally supervised the restoration of the hotel to its original grandeur and lateracquired it. The Oberoi Cecil in Shimla, built in the early 20th century, reopened in April1997 after extensive and meticulous renovation.

Awards and Honors’

In 1943, Mr. Oberoi was conferred the title of Rai Bahadur by the British Government in

recognition of his services to the Crown. Thereafter, Mr. Oberoi won acclaim and

received several national and international awards including admission to the Hall of

Fame by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and Man of The World award by

the International Hotel Association (IHA), New York. He was presented the Order of The

Republic, First Class by the President of Egypt. He got an Honorary Doctorate of Business

Administration from the International Management Centre, Buckingham,

UK. Newsweek named him one of the Elite Winners of 1978. The PHDCCI Millennium



award in 2000 was presented in recognition of his entrepreneurial and business

success. In 2001, the Government of India accorded him the Padma Bhushan.

Globalisation of The Oberoi Group

To place The Oberoi Group on the world map, Mr. Oberoi exported management

expertise to Australia, Egypt and Singapore, where The Oberoi Group took charge of themanagement of existing luxury hotels. The success of Oberoi Hotels & Resorts overseas,in the face of global competition, greatly enhanced the image of The Group.

Today, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts in Indonesia, Egypt, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia and Indiaadd value and distinction to their host countries.

Foundations of the Future

Under Mr. Oberoi’s dynamic leadership, The Oberoi Group introduced its second brand

of hotels, ‘Trident’. Trident hotels are five-star hotels that have established a reputation

for excellence and are acknowledged for offering quality and value. These hotels

combine state of the art facilities with dependable service in a caring environment,making them the ideal choice for business and leisure travellers. Presently there are

nine Trident hotels in India located in Mumbai at Bandra Kurla and Nariman Point,Gurgaon (Delhi National Capital Region), Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Cochin, Agra, Jaipurand Udaipur. The Oberoi Group also operates a Trident hotel in the Saudi Arabian city of

Jeddah.

In the luxury category, The Group opened The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur; The Oberoi Cecil,Shimla; The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur; The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore; TheOberoi Amarvilas, Agra; Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas; The Oberoi, Lombok,

Indonesia; The Oberoi, Sahl Hasheesh, Egypt; The Oberoi, Mauritius and The OberoiZahra, Luxury Nile Cruiser, Egypt.

The Group employs more than 12,000 people worldwide and operates 28 hotels andthree cruisers in five countries.

Mr. Oberoi’s achievements and successes did not, however, take from his simplicity and

old-fashioned charm. He retained, until his death in May 2002 at the age of 103, aunique humility. He was fond of saying, “I have been able to accept the challenge and



make good. There is comfort in knowing that whatever little I have achieved has alsohelped to raise the prestige of my country.”

Dare to Dream: The Life of M.S. Oberoi

He was only six months old when he lost his father. His mother was a very strong

person and determined to give her son the best against all odds. She returned to herfather’s house and began to help in his business. Soon she was as respected as he andbegan to exert her own influence in the business. As a mother she was extremely caring

and loving. He was fortunate to have a mother like her.He passed his matriculation and moved on to collage but did not go beyondintermediate.

He found work at his uncle’s –his father’s brother- shoe factory more interesting andeducative. He was not able to continue working for long at his uncle’s as he did not accept his shaving off his beard, being a Sikh. By this time he had a young bride to think

of, so he applied for a job with the PWD as shorthand typist at Shimla, but failed the test.

Like his mother he was not one to give up. Destiny had something different in store for

him.He was very fascinated by the Faletti Cecil Hotel and the ‘power and style moving beforehis eyes’. He approached the manager and was appointed as a clerk at Rs 50 per

month. His hard work and diligence didn’t go unnoticed. Mr. Clarke as managerreplaced his earlier boss and the two got on quite well in spite of the age difference. Intime He set up his own hotel and invited the young man to join .It was this hotel that he

was to own later when Mr. Clarke left permanently for England. On August 14th 1934 he

became the ‘exclusive owner of Clarke’s Hotel Shimla and Delhi. Mohan Singh Oberoitook the first step to becoming the in the words of J.R.D. Tata ‘the country’s only

exclusive hotelier”

He was helped on this path by his mother Bhagwanti and wife Ishran Devi and later byhis son Biki besides many others who worked with him. But more than his

achievements as an entrepreneur and business man he will be remembered for hishumility and thoughtfulness. He was known as Big daddy to all his staff. There is a

biblical proverb which says that the industrious will sit with Kings, M.S.Oberio did sit with many of them figuratively speaking.Dare to Dream A life of M.S.Oberoi by Bachi J.Karkaria is very good read. Punched

with her characteristic wit and humor. This well researched biography will definitelyencourage readers to dream and then go after their dreams as a great poet says:

‘The life of great men all remind usWe can make our lives sublimeAnd departing leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time'

He falls in the category of Team Management (9, 9) because of the following reasons:

1. Is visionary2. Encourages Creativity & improves existing services

3. Opportunity seeker

4. Recognizes Employee Achievement 5. Promotes team building

6. Despite being an owner of such a huge empire, he could remember the not onlythe names of his employees but also last time when their mother was ill &



whenever he used to go out for a world tour, he used to return with gifts that

were not bought in bulk but were personalized according to their will.

He always used to explain how the potential problems &concerns will be handled.Example- when Grand Hotel, kolkata was facing a problem on its revival, as it was a

costly hotel & the image left by the owners prior to Oberoi was not good, share holdersthreatened him to sell their shares, since there was no profit. He assured them that if

they would provide British troops services at the time of World war-II at less price also,it would be beneficial for them. Since it would help them to improve the image of thehotel. Finally, shareholders could sense the reason & hence supported him, which led to

success.

He used to promote people on the basis of their performance & would also provide

them with incentives, as & when they deserved.

Type of Power

1. Legitimate Power

Instructed people about the work to be done.

2. Reward Power

Control over Rewards.

3. Coercive PowerImplementation of policies and administration of disciplinary action.

4. Expert PowerHas expertise or knowledge over the business.

‡

5. Connection Power

He made use of his acquaintances to get his work done.

A level 5 leader is one who has both professional will, as well as humility in himself.

According to us, Oberoi is a Level 5 leader Oberoi is a Level 5 leader because of the

following reasons:He was clear about what he has to do.

He thought it was better to focus on one thing than to have diversed attention, losing topay attention on any of them.

He gave away the business of contractor, started by his son Tilak raj & also closed down

the Cecil hotel in Shimla, since it wasn‘t working well now and focused more ondeveloping hotels himself, rather than to buy it from somebody else, which ultimately

resulted in Oberoi VILLAS & PALACES commencement.He realised that the hotel and hospitality business is greatly dependent on travel agents,

a vital element in the distribution chain. Therefore, he decided to establish his owntravel agency.



He never said that it was he who did it never said that it was he who did it & always said

it was his “luck and hence thanked god & his employees for his success.He said “I realize it was with God's help that I achieved what the World calls ‘success’ ...”

He said “The opportunity seemed almost a Godsend. I took over the

proprietorship of Clarkes Hotel with the help of a kind uncle who had stood by me

in the past. The employees also helped me as and when needed & I was nowestablished in the Hotel business”

He said “it was his good luck that assured him the prosperity”

Success could not take from him his simplicity & he said “I have been able to accept

the challenge and make good. There is comfort in knowing that whatever little I haveachieved has also helped to raise the prestige of my country.”



PROFILE OF THE FAMOUS male ENTERPRENEUR

Rai bahadur mohan singh oberai

Founders of oberai group of hotels

SUBMITTED BY: DARSHANA CHANDE

STD: T.Y.BMS

ROLL NO.:MS307

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M.S. OBERAI