A Personal Note
A Global Perspective on Hospitality
People often ask why we approach events differently.
The answer has very little to do with the events themselves and almost everything to do with where I grew up.
I spent my childhood between the United States and India before moving to Scotland for university. That meant I experienced three very different ways of thinking about hospitality long before I ever planned my first event.
India
In India, hospitality is part of everyday life. Guests are not treated as customers. They are treated as family. There is an expectation that someone should leave your home having been cared for better than they expected. It is thoughtful, generous, and deeply personal. That philosophy has shaped the way we treat every client and every guest who walks into one of our venues.
United States
The United States taught me something different. It taught me how to build a business. Americans are exceptionally good at asking how something can be done better, faster, and at a larger scale. That mindset has influenced almost every decision we have made at ERIA. We are constantly asking how we can improve the client experience, operate more efficiently, and continue raising the standard for our industry.
Europe
Living in Europe added another perspective. I became fascinated by places that had been welcoming guests for generations. Whether it was a hotel in Italy, a restaurant in France, or a small café in Scotland, there was a confidence to the hospitality. Nothing felt forced. Every detail had a purpose, and quality was assumed rather than advertised.
Since then, I have travelled to more than sixty countries, and almost every trip has become part of my education. I pay attention to how the world's best hotels welcome guests, how exceptional restaurants create atmosphere, how luxury brands communicate, and how remarkable events make people feel from the moment they arrive until long after they leave.
Those experiences have become one of the greatest advantages our company has.
When someone asks us to create an executive retreat, we are not drawing inspiration from one destination. We are thinking about the service we experienced in India, the operational discipline we admire in the United States, the attention to detail we found across Europe, and the creativity we have encountered everywhere else.
The result is not a collection of ideas borrowed from different places. It is a standard that has been shaped by experiencing the very best the world has to offer.
There is another reason travel has influenced the way we work.
Running a business has taught me that time is the most valuable thing any of us own. Our clients work incredibly hard. Their calendars are full, their businesses are demanding, and time away from work is limited. When someone chooses to spend an evening with family, bring their company together, or celebrate an important milestone, they are giving us something far more valuable than their budget. They are trusting us with time they can never get back.
That responsibility is something we take seriously.
Our job is not simply to organise an event. Our job is to make sure the time people choose to spend together becomes time they are grateful they invested.
That is the standard we hold ourselves to, whether we are planning a dinner for twelve people, a wedding weekend, or a global product launch.
The venues may change. The guest lists may change. The countries may change.
Our standard never does.
— Nikita
Nikita Khandheria · Founder & CEO, ERIA
