In this candid conversation with Design Connect, Priya Thakur, the visionary Founder and CEO of LaRiSa Resorts, shares her journey from a spontaneous decision to build a hotel in Manali to redefining the essence of sustainable luxury in hospitality. With a focus on personalized experiences, eco-conscious practices, and innovative differentiation, Priya reveals how LaRiSa is setting benchmarks in the industry. From overcoming challenges in remote locations to embracing emerging trends like wellness tourism and bleisure travel, she discusses her brand’s evolution, ambitious expansion plans, and strategies for creating meaningful guest experiences.
What inspired you to start Larisa Resorts, and how has your vision evolved since its inception?
I entered the Hospitality industry by fate. My father once asked me and my brother if we would like to build a hotel on our land in Manali. Tourism in Manali was just picking up and I instantly said YES. My most significant decisions in life are always quick, candid and clear. I do what I feel is right and then I put my sincere efforts in it. From the very inception, Larisa started as a luxury hotel because of my personal interest in great aesthetic and desire to do user centric design. Well, ‘Luxury’ as a category has gone through many redefinitions based on the context, desires, and it will still be constantly evolving. Our vision is to help guests rediscover sustainable luxury through personalised services. We intend to achieve this through our dedicated service, innovative differentiation, and forecast of our guests’ quintessential needs and presuppositions.
Can you share more about the challenges and successes you faced while establishing your first hotel in Manali?
Opening our first hotel in Manali also brought its own unique hurdles. The established market posed competitive pressure, and building in a remote area introduced logistical issues. We overcame these by focusing on eco-friendly practices and offering exceptional local cuisine, which helped us stand out. Building strong relationships within the local community also played a vital role in our smooth operations. Our commitment to outstanding service and a targeted marketing strategy established our presence in this popular destination.
How do you plan to differentiate your new affordable sub-brand from existing offerings in the market?
I believe the market demands various types of guests; there are high-end customers as well as the mid-segment. The offering will be the same in terms of service quality—it will absolutely be the same and will truly be value for money. Even if this costs less money, we will not compromise on services at all. It’s just that certain offerings, because you know the larger format hotels where we charge higher ARR, will have more facilities that might not be possible in the sub-brand due to the size or the location. However, the offerings in terms of services will absolutely be at par with Larisa. We do not want anyone to think that if you are paying less money, you will get less service. The only differentiating factors will be the facilities at the location.
What role does technology play in enhancing the guest experience at Larisa Resorts?
Technology plays a very important role because it can do things faster. There are so many software tools available to understand your guests better and how you can maximize revenues – technology is very important. Instead of doing things manually, we should leverage technology. I think like the way I covered what COVID did, and I think that part will be taken care of because the behavior of customers has totally changed. People are looking for relaxing avenues rather than just coming to the hotel and wanting to spend the whole day there and relax, rather than jumping from one place to another.
Priya Thakur, Founder and CEO, LaRiSa Resorts
How do you plan to incorporate emerging hospitality trends, such as wellness tourism and bleisure travel, into your offerings?
At Larisa Resorts and Hotels, we incorporate wellness tourism and bleisure travel by staying true to our core value: doing everything from the heart. For us, hospitality is not about standard procedures but about genuine care. Instead of scripted interactions, our staff creates a personal, heartfelt experience that resonates with our guests.
Our property designs reflect the unique character of each location, bringing local aesthetics and a home-away-from-home ambiance. We aim to provide personalized spaces that blend comfort with regional charm, moving away from generic hotel formats. This approach supports a relaxing environment that aligns with wellness-focused experiences. For bleisure travelers, our versatile spaces allow for both work and leisure, enabling them to find a balance and immerse in a peaceful, authentic stay.
What are your long-term goals for Larisa Resorts, both domestically and internationally?
Expansion is always on everyone’s agenda. Yes, Larisa wants to grow internationally, especially to locations where there are direct flights. Even within the country, we want to be present in certain locations which are part of a bigger cities, but about 15 to 45 km off radius, where people can have access to these points earlier, rather than making plans, taking flights and all of that. This can also cater to unplanned trips where people go over on the weekend, get rejuvenated, and come back to work on Monday. Yes, the idea is to actively sign three to four hotels every year internationally and domestically.
How do you ensure a return on investment within 2-3 years for your projects?
I think one has to be very mindful of what you are putting on the ground. You need to be smart enough to understand how to offer better services and amenities without compromising quality, yet still manage them at a not very high cost. What happens is that if you overspend on a particular hotel and go overboard, the return on investment might take many years, around 9 to 10 years. The consumer who’s coming is looking for a clean room, comfortable room, and great washrooms. They don’t really care how much money you spend on that table or a certain category as long as the food is good, the staff is attentive, and their needs are taken care of, which is very important. Also, when you are running two or three hotels, the cost is almost the same compared to when you are running five or six hotels.
There isn’t too much extra effort that one has to put because you are servicing the same kind of guests, talking to the same vendors. I think this efficiency really increases, and that is one of the key advantages. We try to source a lot of local materials for the project, so we aim to use materials from where we are building it rather than importing, which increases the cost. Even our team members are trained to be efficient and versatile, rather than just focusing on their departments. This not only boosts their efficiency but also aids in their growth, and the time and effort are utilized better, allowing for multitasking. So, all these factors – in terms of staff, project management, and how we avoid excess without compromising quality, and then working on sustainability – indicate that just because we need to put something in the room doesn’t mean it’s a must. We have to consider every angle, especially when it comes to sustainability.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your business strategy and expansion plans?
With the pros and cons, yes, it’s very unfortunate that COVID happened, and many people lost their jobs. But I think, overall in this scheme of things, everyone, including the consumer and business people, has seen strategies change, especially in the hospitality industry. Earlier, people might have planned holidays perhaps once or twice a year, maybe three times. But now, I think people realize life is very unpredictable, and they are easing themselves out by taking short vacations over the weekend. So yes, business has increased, and even our thought process has evolved. We are trying to give customers a feeling that this is a home away from home. It’s not a typical setup where you just come, stay, and then do things. We want to curate experiences that embrace the location and the way the hotel’s surroundings are such that you enjoy every part of it, especially when you are traveling from bigger cities and towns.
What are the key factors you consider when selecting new locations for Larisa Resorts?
So, I think the way we look at it is that we want to be part of the major city or town that we are offering our services in. However, within that, we also try to identify places that are part of the city but a little away from the center. Most of our current resorts that you see are in the main downtown areas of Manali, Mussoorie, Shimla, and Goa. But they are at the end of the day about 3 to 4 kilometers away from the main hustle and bustle. The point we are trying to make is that you are still part of the town, and you can still enjoy the main city or town, but when you come back ‘home,’ you are not in that chaos and bustle. You come to a much more peaceful place and can absorb whatever the nature or the surroundings offer you there.
Can you elaborate on your decision to seek external funding and strategic partnerships at this stage?
Regarding the decision to seek external funding and strategic partnerships, I believe that growth is very important for all businesses. At the same time, you will have to take external funding to reach certain levels. So yes, we are working towards that, and overall in the industry, if you see, there’s a lot of consolidation happening under big brands like the Taj of the world. Initially, Taj was only operating under the Taj brand, but now they have diversified with brands like Vivanta, and they also operate SeleQtions. They’ve even started ‘AmaStays,’ and also IHCL SeleQtions hotels. So, I think consolidation is a must, as bigger brands are also offering smaller boutique properties which are more mass-market level hotels. Yes, I think consolidation is good, and we are also in very advanced talks currently with another company where we are looking at consolidation. I think it gives us the bandwidth to provide good service to people and also offer various options, similar to a branded hotel but with all the amenities and services.
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