Women have always been behind a man's success, and there is no panacea to this unfair thought. But Rhea Ramji, the founder of Eriline Resorts says, `There is a man behind any woman's success as well.' However, she has confronted a world of challenges before becoming a renowned name in the hospitality industry. It took courage and perseverance to achieve this feat like success. She had the burning desire to level the fame by mitigating the problems hindering her.

With 20 plus years of rich expertise in Media and Film from the UK and Hospitality in India, she is exceptional in integrity, intellect, drive, emotional intelligence, organizational culture, and operational skill. Rhea's capacity for creating a human-first culture, treating employees as equals, and understanding them at a personal level while effectively managing the complexities is inspirational. In a conversation with Women Entrepreneur India, Rhea shares her inspiring story of how she stepped into a horizon of success.

Give A Gist Of Your Educational And Professional Background Before Entering Into Entrepreneurship.

I come from a family of hoteliers, and my mother is India's first lady hotelier. Being the youngest child, I was determined not to be a hotelier. So I went to London straight out of school, won a scholarship, and studied Film Production at Ealing Studios. The professional journey began as a trainee at Zee TV. My career witnessed growth, and I worked as the youngest producer with Sony and then Bombay talkies.

At this point, when I was reaching the pinnacle of success as a professional, I fell in love with a Britisher who then became my husband. We married in 2002, and I pretty much gave up my career in television. My husband, a Chartered Accountant by profession and an amateur wildlife photographer, said that he would not be able to pursue his passion because we were married.

Apparently, Indian girls are always taught to make their husband's dreams come true and support them. I did the same. We returned to India and gave up our life in the UK. We bought a piece of land in a jungle, started a resort there, and it was successful as well.

Walk Us Through Your Foray Into Entrepreneurship.

While I was supporting my husband to fulfill his dreams, I almost lost myself. I realized that I forgot about the person who was the youngest producer in Sony, who had a lot of dreams and ambitions of her own. That's when I decided to start an NGO to address some issues in the tribal area we lived in. The NGO, Wildlife PACT (Protection and Conservation Trust) was launched in 2007. We started working at the grassroots levels and collaborated with several government officials. In fact, I was nominated for the Femina Women of the Year Award and TOI wrote about me. From being a helper, I started gaining back my own identity. This didn't go well with my husband. Over time, we began to drift apart, and we got were separated in 2018.

At that point, I really did not know what to do, but I didn't want to give up. So, I set up Eriline Resorts in a family property, which was lying derelict for about 10 years. That's how I entered into entrepreneurship in Hospitality.

“We envision exploring the tier 2 and tier 3 areas and also becoming a training center for the youth, giving them job opportunities in their own villages”

Throw Some Light On The Challenges You Have Encountered During The Inception Of Eriline Resorts

After breaking the 18 years marriage, when I was ready to start Eriline, there was no boundary wall, water supply, and electricity for three months. We got the neigh boring guy from the field for some help, and I camped over there with my cat. It was a do-or-die situation, and I was desperate to make this project work. With no phone, television, or even people to talk to, the three months were filled with introspection. But failure was not an option at all. While all said that this is not safe and it won't work, my mom stood as strong support. In 2018, we had already witnessed a major recession, and no one expected the pandemic as well. However, I did see the scope of the inbound market and domestic tourism of smaller cities.

Time and money were other huge problems. When we approached contractors, they used to ask for 3 years of time and 5cr as payment. Honestly, I had neither of it. The complete construction and renovation were taken care of by me alone. Finally, we launched in November 2019.

Highlight Some Facets Of Your Leadership Personality

I'm very passionate about ensuring that all my staff is local. Most of the boys who have been working with us for construction are trained to be in hospitality. We have made them work in housekeeping, service, and kitchen. I feel that we can create job opportunities for the youths in those remote areas by doing this. The strength of chain hotels is facilities, whereas, for a boutique hotel like us, the strength is our service. Therefore, I invest more in the team as they are the asset of Eriline.

I believe that loyalty is a two-way street. This could come as a shocker, but I have asked a few guests to leave and refunded the payment just because they've disrespected our staff. It is a principle, and I believe that you get respect only when you give respect. Apart from this, we always wait till the last worker is done with the work and ensure that the team always eats food together.

Rhea Ramji, Founder & Managing Director, Eriline Resorts

Rhea has topnotch skills in Public Relations, Management and Marketing and administers an NGO named Wildlife PACT for contributing to the development of tribal villages through medical camps, training workshops and school classes which helps native youth in acquiring employable skills of eco tourism sector.