Ms. Maria Jacob shows us it’s possible to flourish professionally even in the toughest state of affairs. She never considered the hospitality sector to be a man’s world as there are many women very actively involved in it. Her late husband Mr. Bailey Jacob and his forefathers were always into agriculture. It was quite by chance that she and her husband identified a charming piece of property by the seaside in Pulinkudi Chowara some 25 years ago, which prompted them to create Nikki’s Nest followed by Duke’s Forest Lodge in their plantation six years later. The untimely death of her husband eight years ago out of sheer necessity prompted Ms. Maria to fully concentrate on business. Fortunately being involved from the beginning she was not helpless with regard to managing the business.
Ms. Maria frankly says that she has faced any hurdles in business which was already well established. Supervision and upkeep of the property was not a problem as the natural aesthetic sense of a woman made it easy. She always accompanied her husband while meeting travel agents so she posed any inconvenience in his absence. Initially she found it difficult to learn about the intricacies of the various taxations and follow ups with the chartered accountants regarding financial matters. More than challenges the irritation that she faced and still facing is the local petty politics. They just march in and out for donations, oblivious of the fact that she is serious tax payer and proper pay master to almost hundreds of staff.
Ms. Maria has been handling her property for past eight years on her own and had done major renovations as well as made the property pollution free. Sewage Treatment Plant converts every drop of water into garden water, biogas for the staff kitchen, incinerator for garden waste, and rain water harvesting roof. Vegetable garden for their immediate requirements in the plantation and their own Ayurveda oil making unit fondly known as “Prakarthi Satwa “ that supplies all the oil and powders required by Nikki’s Nest for the various Ayurveda treatments of the guests.
They have come out with vegetarian recipe book last year, and a part of the income from the sale goes towards environment upkeep and towards a welfare fund for the staff and very lately they officially launched an environment team known as “Green Dream Team”. Even though they have been cleaning the locality including the beach for the past twenty years on a weekly basis, today they do so on a daily basis between 3.30 PM to 4.30 PM every day.
Animal protection and care is also her passion and Nikki’s Nest and Duke’s Forest Lodge are proud to be associated with People for Animals, spreading awareness towards the plight of suffering animals, birds and environment. They discourage any activity that encourages animal cruelty in the name of tourism, and have specially created a brochure that discourages elephant rides, as this brings back painful memories of their days in captivity. As part of advice to young women entering hospitality sector, Ms. Maria asks them to be bold and strong, voice out their opinions and maintain their dignity at the same time.
Too much of dependency on managerial staff should be avoided and they need to be involved in every area of the business. Meeting up with government officials in their office should be done personally as much as possible, because where it would take a minimum of three visits by a male member of staff, the same can be done by just a single visit by the lady entrepreneur herself. Also the status of the problem could be deciphered more clearly. Proper knowledge of taxation is very essential. Maintain good chartered accounts and be in constant touch with them understanding and grasping matters. Never hesitate to put in your questions or suggestions. Direct approach and conversations with guests is essential. Whatever complaints should be rectified immediately, guest opinion should be given due consideration.
According to Ms. Maria a woman can enhance by being more sensitive to the needs of the guests, staff and upkeep of property. For reasons unknown, certain things only catch the eyes of women. Good property maintenance does well under women. Men surely have the capacity to deal with major issues but women never miss out finer details. It’s the finer details that finally play a vital role in upkeep and maintenance. Women can enhance by including all their creative hobbies, to spin women empowerment which certainly goes down well with guests by way of support. This in turn encourages the community women to improve their lifestyle. “As hospitality is all about neat and clean surroundings, spotless rooms and bathrooms, well maintained gardens, good wholesome food, pleasing services in all areas and happy guests, then what better choice than women in this field?”, asks Ms. Maria.
