When Priya Paul took the reins of Park Hotels in 1990, India’s hospitality industry was “in the dumps”, she says. “We were faced with lots of empty hotels.” Before the country’s economic reforms of 1991 ushered in an era of growth, there was “little optimism” about the future.

It was an inauspicious time to launch a sleek, designer hotel in India – a risky concept in a country accustomed to large, marble-clad hotels. But the well-travelled Ms Paul had seen the success of Ian Schrager’s chic Royalton Hotel in New York and was convinced that the concept could take off in India.