
Press Bio
Nikita Khandheria
Nikita Khandheria is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of ERIA, a hospitality company redefining how people gather through events, experiences, and destination venues.
Her approach to hospitality has been shaped as much by where she has lived as by the businesses she has built. Raised between the United States and India before attending university in Scotland, she grew up surrounded by three very different cultures, each with its own perspective on generosity, design, business, and service. Those experiences continue to influence the way ERIA approaches every event, from intimate private dinners to large-scale corporate experiences.
Over the past decade, she has travelled to more than sixty countries, studying the world's best hotels, restaurants, venues, and luxury brands with the curiosity of both a business owner and a guest. Every trip became an education in what makes people feel welcome, what creates lasting memories, and why some places remain unforgettable long after the visit ends. Rather than following trends, she has built ERIA around lessons gathered from hundreds of remarkable experiences across the world.
Before founding ERIA, Nikita operated a waterfront restaurant in Sausalito. While hosting private dinners and celebrations, she discovered that clients were not simply looking for beautiful spaces. They wanted a partner who could make ambitious ideas happen. Too often, those ideas were limited by venues that had been designed to protect a building rather than support an event.
Instead of accepting those limitations, she converted the restaurant into an event venue. That decision became the foundation of ERIA.
The company grew almost entirely through referrals. Wedding clients returned for corporate retreats. Corporate clients came back for birthdays, fundraising galas, executive dinners, and product launches. What began as event planning evolved into long-term partnerships, with many companies asking ERIA to manage their annual event calendars rather than individual celebrations.
Today, ERIA works with founders, technology companies, venture capital firms, global brands, families, and nonprofit organizations to produce experiences that range from executive retreats and product launches to weddings and destination celebrations. The company has expanded from its original Sausalito venue to additional locations, including ERIA Marina in San Francisco, while continuing to invest in immersive technology, experiential marketing, and destination hospitality.
Nikita believes that events have become one of the most important forms of communication a company has. A thoughtfully designed gathering strengthens relationships, shapes culture, introduces ideas, and creates opportunities that rarely happen over email or video calls. That belief has led ERIA to expand beyond traditional event planning into annual corporate partnerships, where the company serves as an extension of a client's marketing and leadership teams.
Despite the company's growth, her philosophy has remained remarkably consistent. Every event is planned with the assumption that it is the beginning of a relationship rather than a transaction. That mindset influences every decision ERIA makes, from the way the team communicates with clients to the way new venues are designed.
Nikita is known for an unusually hands-on approach to leadership. She remains deeply involved in the creative and strategic direction of every project while continuing to study hospitality, travel extensively, and learn from businesses both inside and outside the events industry. She believes excellence is not a destination but a discipline, and that every event should leave a client with complete confidence that they have found the team they will trust for years to come.
Her long-term ambition is straightforward. She wants ERIA to become the company people think of first whenever something worth celebrating happens, anywhere in the world.
Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Entrepreneurship
Building businesses from the ground up, securing early funding, and growing through reputation and referrals.
Business Acquisitions
Acquiring distressed businesses, turning them around operationally, and generating value for investors.
Hospitality Innovation
Redefining what a venue and event company can be by combining planning, production, and ownership under one roof.
Founder-Led Growth
Scaling a company while staying personally invested in every client relationship and maintaining quality at every stage.
Destination & Luxury Hospitality
Insights drawn from visiting more than sixty countries and studying the world's leading hotels, restaurants, and brands.
Experiential Marketing
Using events as a strategic communication channel for brands, technology companies, and venture-backed businesses.
Speaking
Speaking Topics
Nikita is frequently sought out as a podcast guest, panel speaker, and contributor on the following topics.
The Future of Events
Why in-person experiences are becoming one of the most valuable marketing channels available to businesses.
Building a Hospitality Brand
How ERIA grew from one venue into a hospitality company built around guest experience rather than transactions.
Experiential Marketing
Why brands are investing more in experiences than traditional advertising and how to measure the return.
Luxury Weddings
What couples value today and how wedding planning has evolved over the last decade.
Entrepreneurship
Building businesses from the ground up, leading teams, and creating brands that people remember.
Media Assets
Headshots & Brand Materials
Professional headshots, approved biography copy, and brand imagery are available on request. Please email nikita@eriaevents.co with a brief description of your publication and intended use.
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Get in Touch
Media & Speaking Enquiries
For interviews, podcast invitations, speaking engagements, or quote requests, please reach out directly.
Partnerships
ERIA is open to partnerships with brands, publications, and organisations aligned with hospitality, experiential events, and luxury lifestyle. For partnership enquiries, please reach out below.
info@eriaevents.co