A multitude of several roles, Priya Paul stands out amongst all others when it comes to her story of success and entrepreneurship. She is the Chairperson of the Hospitality Division of the Apeejay Surrendra Group. She also owns the line of prestigious The Park Hotels. However, her role in life is not confined till here, she owns and manages multitude roles with the same ease and grace. The voice of women equality, a strong feminist, an active industry supporter, a woman entrepreneur, a devoted mother, and of course a loving wife and what not!
It is not at all wrong to call her the leading lady of the Indian Hospitality Industry. Being born in a family of entrepreneurs, she was at a very young age sure that when she grows up, she will definitely become the same. Even at the age of 10, she had ambitions to turn out to be the right hand of her father, Surrendra Paul who was the founder of the first The Park Hotel which is located in Kolkata. Some people like to tell that she had all set up and it has been an easy journey for her because she was born with a silver spoon. Regardless of what she had, becoming capable and worthy of what she had to own, was not an easy feat.
She began her educational journey by arming in the course of Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College in Economics from the United States of America. She came back to her country in the year 1988. She started her career in her family business in The Park Hotel as a Marketing Manager. She could have easily taken the highest position in the hotel; however, she chose to start as a beginner would so that she could learn everything she needs to just like her father wanted. At this time, she was only 22, however, aspirations had no limits.
Everything was running smoothly in her life, until one day she had to suffer the untimely death of her father in the year 1990. She had just started her career in the hotel, however, now she had to step up to fit in her father’s shoes all of a sudden which was not at all easy. Well, like the gracious woman she is, she never lost hope and never got discouraged. Following the dreams and aspiration of his father and herself, she became the chairperson of The Park Hotel chain. Since then, she has never looked back.
The business which her father left in mid, she not only overtook it but also brought it into a phase that it is now counted to be one of the finest places in the country. She became what she always wanted to, a creative, young entrepreneur. It did not come to her the way she wanted but it did and she made the most out of what she had and created a hotel chain with decorative themes and unique architecture. In the year 2003, her success story became renowned all over the world, and her hotel chain was counted as one of the 101 Best Hotels Worldwide in UK’s Tatler Magazine. She also won many other titles but her humility never went off the air.
She was named and famed as the Young Entrepreneur by the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association in the year 1999-2000. She also won the title of the Economic Times Business Person of the year in 2003, and along with that she also is a founder member of the World Travel Tourism Council India Initiative. Her plate might seem full, but she is on the verge of doing as much as she can because that is the type of lady she is, ambitious and inspiring.
