His sometimes subdued speech could easily be mistaken for complacence; his vast educational background cannot rival his elephantine degree of modesty. He is one of the few people who being virtuous on the outside, boasts the same personality inside. Even immense success has not erased memories of his humble roots, nor has fame altered in any way the aesthetic and temperate attitude he still possesses today.
Humble beginnings
Jain was born in Khairana village (Madhya Pradesh) into a farmer family. He was a brilliant student from the very beginning, and, after completing his degree in Commerce from Sagar University, he decided to pursue Chartered Accountancy (CA). For someone who had studied in Hindi medium all along, studying CA in English was tough. However, Jain was focused on proving that if someone is determined and works hard, he is bound to succeed - no matter how tough the task is. With sheer hard work, Jain completed his CA and opted to move to Mumbai to start his own practice.
Destiny, however, had other things in store for him. While he was working on building his CA unit and management consultancy firm, it struck him that service and hospitality was the bottom line, as building trust and confidence with clients is what any business is all about. "Hospitality was my calling and thus it was towards this industry that I started channelising all my energy," he informs.
Birth of 'Pride Group'
Thus was born, the Pride Group of Hotels. The storyboard that outlines the sequence of events that followed is inspiring.
Jain is the new-age version of the man with the Midas touch. Credited with converting sick, non-performing assets into successful businesses, Jain has turned properties in Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chennai into gold. Pride, Pune, the group's flagship brand was born in 1988 - which proved to be a golden investment for Jain. The year 1992 can be regarded as the landmark year for Pride, for it was in this year that Jain decided to completely concentrate and focus on his hospitality business and develop it further. In 1999 and 2004, the company bought out sick units in Nagpur and Ahmedabad, respectively and revamped them as five-star hotels. Further, by revamping the King's Park in Chennai into a 115-room five-star hotel and renaming it as 'The Pride Hotel', the group has recently added a fourth five-star to its kitty.
The group is now in the process of developing five-star properties in Bangalore, Goa, Mumbai and Alibaug. From 430 rooms currently, it aims to take the figure up to 1,126 by 2009-2010, which includes the rooms that it is adding to its already existing properties (Nagpur (73), Pune (43) and Ahmedabad (60).
To fuel its expansion, the group plans to go public in the first quarter of 2008 and will be raising part of its required funds via an IPO. Further, Kotak Realty Fund and Mauritius-based Primary Fund have recently funded the company to the tune of Rs 45 crore and Rs 10 crore respectively.
After its current development plans are over, the group will leverage its brand, and develop properties in other regions (North and East) as well. It plans to build 14 new five-star hotels in the coming decade. Moreover, the huge gap between five-star and economy hotels in the country has driven the group to launch 'Biznotel'. This 60 to 125 room budget brand will cater to business travellers.
Meanwhile, his son, Satyen Jain, who recently won the Young Hotel Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 award from FHRAI, is supporting him in carrying forward his dreams of making Pride group a force to reckon with in the hotel industry. The father-son combo in all likelihood will take the industry by storm in the years to come.
And while the drive to take Pride Group to greater heights consumes most of his time, in his free time Jain loves to be with his family and watch movies. As for the future, he would like to keep working hard to make the Pride Group a global name one day.
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