The Lalit Jaipur team celebrating Pride 2024 with fervor and zeal through exciting games, fun activities, and meaningful conversations.
As a queer person, there are some fundamental things I obsess over before I decide if it’s possible for me to pack my bags and explore the world. Many of these are related to safety. I wonder if I’m standing out too much, if my appearance is cis-passing or not, and whether the places I stay will be hostile to me. A couple of years ago, on a trip to Jaipur, hotel staff declined to give my date and I a double bed, arguing that two male friends could sleep in a room with twin beds. It’s not easy to forget our hesitation, rage, and fear as we debated whether to explain our situation to them.
The memory lingered in my mind as my colleagues at the DEI Lab and I entered the Lalit’s sprawling beachfront South Goa resort for our first-ever annual retreat. But this time, it was different. I immediately realised that I didn’t have to hide anything about my identity. This was a place where diversity was celebrated, visible from the progress pride flag hoisted outside the main gate.
There's inherent queer joy in knowing that I can dress up as fabulously as I want to, be a little femme, and wear the accessories I want without anyone around me batting an eyelid. I still felt hesitant, because so many of my experiences are rooted in that feeling of stepping back and hypervigilance about who’s observing me and in what sense. At the Lalit, however, relief quickly followed my hesitation. I could see the identity-affirming badges, queer-friendly messages on screens, and queer literature in our rooms (everyone loves books, but queer books are even better). It’s different when the staff greets you not only as a customer but also as a person, they respect regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
This sense of inclusion must be cultivated. It requires understanding and empathy towards others. It's more than invoking queer joy; it's about queer relief. That happens when you know your body isn’t on alert, allowing you to engage with those around you in a free spirit, being in the moment and enjoying every second of it. I found that solace and relief in the Lalit.
Founded in 1988 with one hotel in New Delhi, the Lalit Group is now a conglomerate with a dozen luxury hotels and over 2200 rooms. They bounced back after the pandemic-era rough patch that hit the hospitality industry globally and posted some of their best revenue figures in 2022-23. But their place in Indian business history has really been cemented by their approach to inclusion. In January 2024, the Lalit became the first-ever hotel chain in the world to receive the IGLTA (International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association) accreditation. The group has outperformed the IGLTA framework on 8 key criteria – diversity, equity, inclusivity, policy, community, advocacy, transparency, and sensitivity. John Tanzella, the President and CEO of IGLTA, praised the group for their dedication to providing safe environments for LGBTQ+ travellers in India.
The Lalit group's commitment to fostering a welcoming travel environment for all is also a strategy for the future: they are foreseeing that India will become a welcoming and inclusive destination for visitors from all countries, especially for the queer community.
This commitment to inclusion began for a very personal reason, when Keshav Suri, son of the group's founder, returned to India after a stint abroad and noticed the absence of safe spaces for queer expression. That led to the founding of the iconic Kitty Su in 2011. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s hard to explain how significant the name was to the Delhi queer scene when it first opened doors. Its success may best be described in outcomes: in the 12 years since it began, India now has a small but thriving scene that celebrates drag, and cherishes artists who’ve emerged from Kitty Su, including Rani KoHEnur, Maya-The drag Queen, Betta Naan Stop, Zeesh, and Lush Monsoon.
Keshav Suri leveraged his privilege to benefit the LGBTQIA+ community by fostering engagement and inclusivity in a hospitality industry that, until then, had demonstrated little value for queer lives and queer business. Although transgender rights were severely restricted until 2014’s NALSA judgement, and homosexuality was criminalised in India until 2018, Kitty Su thrived. It showcased more than 1,000 Indian artists; its roster of international drag artists brought light and life to our cultural landscape; its parties became must-attend events even among heterosexual partygoers.
The Kitty Su experience helped the group create an inclusive employment programme, at the intersection of culture and livelihood, driven by their moral imperative. This became their strategic business model, Akshay Tyagi, who heads DEI at the Lalit Group, explained to me . Their induction process for all employees includes sessions on gender, sexuality, and disability, contributing to a thriving culture of openness. A 'Lalit Equality Pledge,' which every employee is required to take seriously, emphasises asking about how others identify rather than assuming, and promotes allyship and community participation. The Lalit's leadership programme for the queer community includes mentorship and buddy programmes, and fosters dialogue and support networks.
Skilling and employment are key to their vision of inclusive business. The Lalit offers a B. Sc. Programme in Hospitality and Hotel Management , and a Diploma in Food Production Diploma in Bakery & Patisserie, for which they also offer five annual scholarships. This investment in education is part of their ongoing effort to develop a talent pipeline that bridges the gap between the requirements of their hotel and the talents of queer and trans people, who often face significant challenges to employment. As of this writing, the programme has successfully integrated over 200 trans people into their workforce.
When they join the Lalit group, participants undergo a three-month observation period to familiarise themselves with hotel operations and the five-star hotel settings. Following this, they get six months of training, spending two months in each department to deepen their understanding and involvement in various hotel functions, and allowing leaders to identify their areas of strength. After this, participants enter an 11-month apprenticeship programme, totalling 20 months of paid training. The Lalit’s goal is to transition these individuals into full-time employees with a choice for gaining expertise in their skill of interest. As an LGBTQIA+ inclusive strategy, it is a lighthouse for businesses in India.
But none of this has come easily in a business where, more than others, the customer is (gender-neutral) king. Tyagi acknowledges that one of their constant challenges is a wider lack of awareness of LGBTQIA+ realities. "It's crucial to raise awareness effectively," he explained. "In a hotel setting, it’s not possible to directly educate guests, so we utilise subtle methods like books and literature on DEI placed in hotel rooms. Once awareness is heightened, people tend to make efforts to understand better." He points out that many guests are likely to hold misconceptions, such as assuming that trans people are only found at traffic signals. While customer service is paramount, so is their zero-tolerance policy on discrimination.
"We take the well-being of our employees very seriously and it's very important for us to safeguard them," Tyagi says. "If anybody engages in discriminatory behaviour, we don’t do business with them."
Gaining approval from the board of directors for this bold approach to inclusivity was also a challenge, which is a privately owned company in which only one senior leader – executive director Keshav Suri – is openly queer. The Chairperson & Managing Director at the group Dr. Jyotsna Suri, played a pivotal role in fostering inclusivity, I learned. (She's affectionately known as the "mother of queers" at the Lalit.) The group’s promoters and supply chain members are regularly sensitised to the business’s inclusivity objectives. It helps that the group regularly sweeps Indian and international awards for their inclusive hospitality, and that Keshav Suri is globally recognised for his efforts at promoting queer equality, including with a Women's Economic Forum 'Exceptional Leaders of Excellence' recognition, and a Travel + Leisure India award for LGBTQIA+ Championship.
In 2016, the group established a PureLove Employee Resource Group for queer team members -- the group prefers to avoid terms like "employee" or "staff," and finds "team member" underscores the cultural belief in a familial environment, where everyone feels like they have equal stake in the business. Today, it boasts more than 500 members who advocate for affirmative action for LGBTQIA+ people. Gender-neutral washrooms, queer mental health counselling, and inclusive HR policies – insurance coverage that extends to partners rather than legally-wed "spouses," for example – have all been a matter of course at the Lalit for years. Team members also have the option to choose pronouns and lead the way for inclusive language in all communications: the group has regular workshops to maintain these standards consistently.
The Lalit's path to queer inclusion is intersectional, substantiated through the PwD accessible room in all their locations –– the rooms are accessible by wheelchair, have support systems around the bed, alarm bell for assistance, light & sound sensitivity options, and interconnected access for a guest/caretaker. And, fittingly from the house of Kitty Su, they have established 'Aditya Nanda Scholarship' in Kashish Pride Film Festival, awarded to the best film addressing mental health issues within the queer community. The group also actively supports queer filmmakers by hosting screenings of community centric films.
Parmesh Shahani, our DEI Lab head, who has written about the Lalit in his book Queeristan, told me, "I like how they walk the talk and stand up for our community, especially in difficult times. During Covid for example, the hotel business was suffering, to say the least, but they still collaborated and distributed rations to some of our most marginalised queer community members across the country, through their own and by collaborating with other foundations. I will always remember this."
Mohul Sharma (he/him), DE&I Executive at Lalit, hosting the Trans Employment Mela 2024
Mohul Sharma, now a DE&I Executive at Lalit, joined the group in 2018 at the age of 19, working in the food and beverage department. "I am genuinely very grateful to Mr. Keshav Suri for believing in me when no other corporate or organisation did and for giving me the chance to show my worth," Mohul said. "There were times when no one was ready to give me a job based on flimsy things such as my voice. This organisation gave me the opportunity to showcase my talent, first in the operational aspects of hospitality, and now in the DE&I space. It is absolutely inspirational to see queer people in all the verticals of the organisation, be it junior level or senior level. It gives me hope." The Lalit helped him embrace his identity. “Over the years I have made strong bonds with the people here, and I am proud to say that I am recognised for my work and my sense of commitment rather than just my identity as a trans person," Mohul told me.
Mohul's words about the visibility of queer people in every part of society finds an echo in my own mind and heart. I, too, feel a growing sense of security and relief, and hope for better times ahead, both as a non-binary person, and as a DEI advocate. There's an unspoken sense of shared solidarity when people from historically excluded groups are recognised not just for our identity, but for our work as well. This acquires a layer of social acceptance when hotels double up as destinations for families to enjoy their time in an inclusive environment and perhaps learn more about the queer community in India. My experience at the Lalit Goa will always be cherished and a story to tell others, and I'll think of those books on my coffee table in my room the next time I’m reading a book about queer culture in India. I'll carry its warm glow into my next evening at Kitty Su, enjoying the performances of some fabulous drag queens.
Images by The Lalit. Text by Rajeev Kushwah.