JS Anand Exceeding Expectations With LEVA Hotels

JS Anand is the CEO and Founder of LEVA Hotels based in Dubai, UAE. The hotel brand offers innovative and flexible solutions to all hotel owners with superior ROI. The brand has an attractive business model with innovation at its core. Through LEVA Hotels, JS Anand aims to get higher profitability, the betterment of his employees, and customer satisfaction. After all, a business is a good business, especially when it keeps its customers happy and satisfied! He also aims to close approximately 10 hotel management agreements by the end of 2022 to fuel his company’s growth.

JS Anand and his team have worked hard to be in this position. They’ve worked with contractors and hotel owners, visited various sites, and worked dedicatedly towards success. Furthermore, JS Anand thinks that one should change and adapt to the changing market trends, whether in terms of technology or demands. It allows one to grow and come up with sustainable solutions.

Let’s get to know about JS Anand and LEVA Hotels in detail through our interview with JS Anand below.

About JS Anand

He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of LEVA Hotels. For two years in a row, 2021 and 2022, Hotelier Middle East Magazine has recognized him to be among the top 50 most influential leaders in the hospitality industry.  He has over 2 decades of remarkable experience in the hospitality industry along with an excellent track record with a few of the world’s leading hotel brands such as Marriott, IHG, and Hilton. He is an outspoken corporate leader with a hands-on management style. Following the company’s core values, he is firmly focused on delivering, efficiently and effectively, what has been promised to its stakeholders and clients.

About LEVA Hotels

LEVA Hotels is a dynamic lifestyle hotel brand based in Dubai, UAE. The hotel specializes in providing innovative and flexible solutions to hotel owners with superior ROI through the hotel and third-party management models. The hotel has been acknowledged for its distinctive brand concepts, profitable business model, innovative design, and consistently memorable guest experience. We are flexible in our approach and incorporate brand elements to keep within a budget allocated by ownership. LEVA Hotels has a unique portfolio of three complementary and well-differentiated hotel brands such as:

• LEVA Hotels – Catering to 4-star and above properties.
• EKONO by LEVA – Properties with 3-star midscale positioning.
• LEVA Hotel Residences – Hotel Apartments.

LEVA Hotels is a home-grown brand based in Dubai with an excellent proven track record specializing in hotel conversions and new builds. They believe in performance parameters and results. It was created as a lean management company focusing on converting and uplifting existing properties (residential, hotels, and offices) into upscale, lifestyle properties. 

JS Anand, What are your goals?

Our goal is simple: guest satisfaction, employee engagement and betterment, and profitability. The goal is to sign 10 hotel management agreements by the end of this year from key regions in the Middle East and Africa, specifically KSA, UAE, Egypt, and Zanzibar, Tanzania. 

JS Anand, What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now?

Beyond my 20-years of experience in hospitality, I believe the most crucial strengths I hold are:

• My people.
• The strategic partnerships.
• LEVA’s core values.
• The uniqueness of the brand’s culture.
• The innovative and inclusive concepts that we develop for our hotels.

We have been acknowledged for our out-of-the-box approach, profitable business model, innovative design, and consistency of a memorable guest experience. Our first flagship hotel, LEVA Hotel Mazaya Centre in Dubai, is the perfect example. It has been functioning successfully since 2018 and has risen to number 7 out of 866 hotels in Dubai. Furthermore, it’s in the top 10% of the best hotels on TripAdvisor. 

What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?

We followed the harder route, pounded the ground, visited project sites, and met with contractors, consultants, and hotel owners. As we did not have free-flowing money to create the brand, our strategy was well-thought-out and aggressive while remaining cost-effective. Persistence was essential, as was maintaining strength when opportunity doors closed. 

Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company?

I have the drive, the inclination, and the desire to create a long-term sustainable culture in every aspect of people management, owner relations, and being a result-oriented business. In my opinion, if defined, strategic and performance-oriented, leadership defines the company’s culture.

JS Anand, What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Lack of support from a large corporation, competition with global brands, and not a strong platform to build the business. In short, as an investor, you are on your own, and building a brand is far more difficult without connections. 

What are your company’s strategies, and how do they stand unique from your competitors?

Upbeat, dynamic, lifestyle, guest-centric, cost-efficient, and experts in flexible hotel conversion.

Bringing hotels to life, whether we’re building a hotel from scratch or renovating an existing one, we’re creating a space that makes an impact with soft modifications and minimum investment from the hotel owners or development companies. No two hotels are alike.

Our properties are designed to stand out. However, they all have LEVA’s signature touches that highlight the best features of each property while also incorporating our brand identity. We’re spontaneous but consistent, cutting-edge but relatable, and we are flexible in location and our service.

How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?

Changes are unavoidable. The ability to develop and adapt to how the market evolves in terms of technology and sustainable solutions is what counts most. 

Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients get from your company in this competitive world?

A win-win situation exists for both hotel owners and guests. Our pricing structure is competitive, and we have profitable and strategic partnerships. We partner with the world’s leading global distribution system to help generate more revenue for hoteliers, integrate seamless connectivity into our internal and external processes, and reach travelers all over the world.

We have a strong revenue management team and work with leading PR and branding partners in the Middle East. Cost-effective models define us to live within operating models and not go back to ownership to support funds to run an asset.

What services/solutions or products are offered by your company at par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services?

As discussed above, we are a UAE-based company focusing on helping hotel owners with their hotel management issues. We develop innovative solutions and ideas to make a mark in the hospitality industry. We provide innovative designs and ideas that are cost-efficient. Furthermore, we are leading in hotel conversion, with our hotels showing excellent results in customer satisfaction.

Next Article: Smartbox Media Web Design and App Development Company in UAE