Basics of Management(MGT-201)

Academic Year- 2023-24

Case Study- ‘Aman Nath’

Submitted by:
1. Monit Singh BT21GCS169
2. Megha Singh BT21GCS120
3. Kathan Soni BT21GCS043
4. Nandini Singh Bais BT21GCS333
5. Nalin Agarwal BT21GCS330
Born in 1951, is an Indian writer, hotelier and architectural restorer. He is also the co-founder
and co-chairman of the Neemrana Hotels chain along with Francis Wacziarg. Both started
working in the year 1991 and since then they have acquired over 25 heritage properties and
converted them into hotels after restoration.
In June 2016, he and five others, all members of the LGBT community themselves, filed a writ
petition in the Supreme Court of India challenging section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Then in
2018 the Supreme Court unanimously declared the law unconstitutional "in so far as it
criminalizes consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex".
Aman Nath studied history and has been passionate about writing poetry since he was young.
He's also skilled in graphic design and writing ads for notable campaigns. He's co-written and
authored thirteen big illustrated books covering various topics like art, history, architecture, and
photography. Two of these books have won national awards. One of his books about Jaipur was
the first Indian book Christie's distributed globally. Additionally, two of his books are official
gifts from the President and Prime Minister of India.
In 1986, Aman Nath acquired Neemrana Fort-Palace and began its restoration. The hotel opened
in 1991.
Problem Statement

Investigate the multifaceted career trajectory of Aman Nath, exploring his leadership
methodologies, strategic decisions, and innovative approaches within the hospitality and cultural
heritage domains. Assess the underlying factors driving his achievements, identify key
challenges encountered, and analyze the broader implications of his endeavors on the industry
landscape.
Solution
Mr. Aman Nath, belonging from a family who came as refugees from Pakistan and stayed in the
tents in the capital city- Delhi, must have gone through a lot of changes. Seeing so many
infrastructural changes all around the capital and the country the idea to make something new
was always on the brim.
In his early life he worked as an Advertisement head and he enjoyed that work as mentioned by
him during the interview but this new passion of his to bring an old fort back to life was a career
shift and the rest is history.
His idea of starting a hotel in such a remote place was a massive decision because the localities
were never ready for that change. First people doubted his plans. A constant doubt used to be
there in everyone’s mind, if they can trust him ? What if he is a bad person who will destroy the
peace of the village ?
But ever since then the people got employment and the tourism also increased. Local businesses
also got the support with the help of this famous hotel as not all the goods could be transported
from far off places, some were bought from the locals and thus created an opportunity to earn
money.
Soon he took more heritage sites under his supervision and transformed them into successful
hotels and heritage sites which proves that he has been a good leader and quite an innovative
person.
What were the reactions of the local people of Neemrana during the starting phase of the
project ?

The local people were shocked by the news. The fort, which was not visited as much, was now
going to change into a hotel. Aman Nath sir told us an anecdote where he told us about his visit
to the Tehsildar of the village. When sir introduced himself to the Tehsildar, he was shocked
because he thought the person with such a big idea and plan who is going to change the whole
face of Neemrana Fort must be an old man carrying a suitcase ton of money with him. But on the
other hand Aman Nath sir was a young man with a simple dressing style.
The Tehsildar welcomed him anyway and then asked the chaprasi to bring a cup of tea for Aman
Nath sir and the driver. Suddenly Aman Nath sir replied that he drove the car himself. Again the
Tehsildar got shocked and thought why does he not have a driver ?

Can you tell us about the founding story of neemrana hotels and what inspired you to start
this venue?

I am an old friend of MR Rajeev Pawar and have visited NIIT university many times. In the
conference once he said that I am the reason why NIIT is where it is located. If one individual
can do so much magnate so i can also be the same. I think it is a battle that goes on that you are
doing fantastic work on a hill. I met a forest officer a few days ago where he told me I got the
Priyadarshini Award for that, which is another thing. I think that my journey is only about when
you don't have to have a problem to keep looking for a solution, you can also look for a solution
by creating a problem by yourself. For example, if you got unlimited amount of water and you
are walking in the desert , you have to think that one day this water is going to run out, so if you
dig a well somebody will say how you got a bright idea to dig well. It's not a bright idea, I think
“it's just an idea”. I am a Historian and have done my masters in history, when I saw the ruin of
the fort my first thought naturally was it has its great days. This year in 2024 neemrana
completed its 560 years. So in 560 years out of which in 1986 I have been involved with it but
before that can you imagine what kind of life there must have been? I thought they must have an
amazing life, have marriages , children , court entries, that's what history is all about. Why would
it not strike any of you that how about putting life into it? For me it's the first thing , I came from
the opposite end which is a curious thing. They didn't have any pumps , drilling machines, or
water many years ago. But today we have technology at our side so its whole story about 40
years where this all thing got changed. I am not an engineer. I come from an engineering
background , My family is from Lahore. They came as refugees so we don't have an ancestor
house. We have no village, it's kind of a vacuum. I asked for help (jonathan pumps) from them
but they were like “ neemrana kaun jayega”. In 1986 neemrana was further in the mind in the
highway at that time the highways were not so good as compared to today. And i think another
reason for this is when you don't have something you have to compensate for that thing. In the
end it all matters about “curiosity”.

What sets Hotel Neemrana Fort apart from other hotel chains?

"The entire idea behind Neemrana Hotel was to make it a non-hotel hotel. And no, I was not
negating the process, I was defining it". People have a tendency of being attracted to things that
stand out and that is exactly what we did. The hotel in itself, is not a hotel, it's a fort, every room,
every corridor has a story attached to it. It has stories attached of the people, the royalties that
have stayed here, and we have converted each of those places into rooms, rest rooms, kitchens,
for the guest to have a complete experience. Coming from a refugee family, myself, we
understand the importance of settling in, and Neemrana Fort is supposed to give you that
comfort, and that is what sets it apart.

“Aman Nath was one of the 5 people who challenged Section 377 in the penal court”. In a
society where prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community is still prevalent, did it scare you,
that your involvement might take a hit on your business, which runs on public
involvement?

I believe,There is nothing that should be scary enough to stop you from pursuing who you are.
People should accept you for who you are, or who you want to be. Never back down from doing
something because the world might not take it well, and thus, NO. It never scared me back then,
it will never scare me ever.

Do you have any interesting experience/interaction story with the guests of Neemrana Hotel
that you would like to share with us?

There are thousands and thousands of stories to share but if you look at the early years of the
hotel there are some interesting anecdotes to tell. There was a lady Mrs.Khaitan and she was
from Calcutta and she came and stayed here and wrote in the visitor’s book “Kabhi Kabhi Prithvi
Par Swarg ka Aehsaas Hota H, Jai Ma Durge'' (Sometimes I can feel the presence of heaven on
earth, Jai Ma Durge). I was flabbergasted as I felt delighted that we were able to bring heaven on
earth for her in the form of this hotel. I felt great that she came to our hotel and had such a lovely
and ethereal experience which touched her heart and soul to this level. Maybe it was because this
place was so untouched by civilization and the artificiality of city life which made it so pure.
There was another gentleman from maybe Europe or America that wrote “Neemrana Hotel is not
a 5-star hotel, it’s a million star hotel” because those days you can see the stars shining so
brightly and clearly in the night sky. All these testimonials made me feel I was on the right path.
When I first came to see the fort, it was in ruins. I thought that anyone who’s ever wanted to buy
a fort has to be a bit cracked in the head. As I was looking at the fort a fleeting epiphany came to
me and I started wondering what if right now somebody brought me a bowl of ice cream with
strawberries on it and how much better it would taste here. Just imagine, you’re eating your food
in your house but if you get the chance to eat the same dishes on the roof of a fort with a view of
the sarso field dancing with the winds how much better would the experience be. I believe this
gives us a chance to re-examine the past just like what my friend Abhay Mangaldas from
Ahmedabad is doing.

Conclusion
Aman Nath, co-founder and chairman of Neemrana hotel is a very generous person because
during our whole conversation he was so friendly and cooperative with us. A complete down to
earth person who always sees the environment around him in a different way. It was him who got
the idea of converting an old fort into a world class hotel which gives goosebumps to anyone
who visits his hotels. A complete blend of history and modern science is what Neemrana Hotels
is famous for. He himself gets surprised by this thought, why nobody else got the idea of
converting old heritage sites into hotels.

Teaching Notes
Commitment to Quality - The quality of work and the service given to us when we visited the
hotel was quite good. Which shows their commitment to quality and proper hospitality.

Respect for Employees - We talked to an employee of the fort who joined the work in 2006 and
by his answers it proved that he loves his workplace. All the employees respect Aman Nath sir
and in the same way they all are treated well by him. Which is not seen at many workplaces.

Link of the meeting videos - video1154931088.mp4 video1830148301.mp4