For Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi, chairman emeritus of The Oberoi Group, who passed away Tuesday morning at 94 years of age, it was never about scale, but more about style and substance. The man who took over the reins of Oberoi Hotels from his father, Mohan Singh Oberoi, elevated the brand to become a benchmark in Indian hospitality, making it synonymous with quality and perfection instead of a contender for the most number of properties or keys.
His father, who built the 32-hotel and two Nile cruiser empire from scratch, starting as a clerk at the Cecil Hotel in Shimla in 1922, had told one of his daughters that she would “see an Oberoi Hotel in every city she went”, as he acquired hotels from Shimla to Lahore, Calcutta to Delhi, in his early years. But his son Biki, as Prithvi Raj Singh was known, was more intent on redefining luxury and offering a world-class experience. Having grown up in hotels as his father worked in and acquired one after the other, to travelling around the world as a student in London and Switzerland, Biki was better acquainted with the good life, and also the nuances of hotelering. When he returned from Europe with a degree in hotel management to work alongside his father at 25 years of age, he complimented his father’s business acumen with his world view. It was under Biki’s eye for detail that Oberoi Hotels set new standards that continue to define the brand even today, be it the renovated Oberoi in Delhi or the Vilas properties.
Eventually taking over the reins after his father suffered a stroke in 1984, the same year his older brother Tikki Oberoi passed away, Biki gave new direction to Oberoi Hotels, creating the Trident and Vilas brands. The first Vilas hotel, Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, was awarded the best hotel in the world when it opened in 1997. More awards and recognitions followed, both for Oberoi Hotels and Biki Oberoi, who received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, and the Lifetime Achievement Award at ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market), recognising his leadership and vision. In 2022, PRS was recognised by the International Hospitality Institute on the Global 100 in Hospitality as one of the 100 most powerful people in global hospitality.
Paying tribute on X, Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor compared PRS to JRD Tata, writing, “He was to the Indian and Global hospitality industry what JRD Tata was to Indian and Global aviation.” Former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant wrote: “A visionary leader in the global hospitality industry, his legacy of world-class excellence and refined luxury has left an indelible mark.”
Calling PRS “a titan of luxury hospitality”, brand strategist Harish Bijoor recalled on X that once when he told PRS about a Club Floor at the Taj Hotels, Oberoi’s revert was a crisp: “Every floor at the Oberoi is a Club floor”. Anyone who has experienced the Oberoi service and quality, would agree with industrialist Anand Mahindra that PRS Oberoi was “a class act”. And, that is how he will be remembered.