The Board of Directors of Royal Orchid Hotels has appointed Keshav Baljee as Executive Director, marking what the company described as a decisive step in its next phase of structured growth and brand expansion.
Baljee has been a member of the Board since 2019 and has played a role in shaping strategic initiatives, strengthening the asset-light model and refining the company’s brand architecture across markets. His elevation to Executive Director aligns formal responsibility with the strategic direction he has been driving.
Baljee is the Founder of Kensington Villas, a curated luxury villa development company with projects in Alibaug. He previously founded and led Spree Hotels, building it into a pan-India hotel management company under the “Zip by Spree” and “Spree” brands. Spree also operated in facilities management and clubhouse management. The company was later sold to EaseMyTrip, a listed travel conglomerate.
During his earlier tenure as President of Royal Orchid Hotels from 2007 to 2011, the group’s portfolio expanded from four to 24 hotels in under five years, with more than 1.2 million square feet of hospitality assets jointly developed. He led investor relations, private equity and debt engagements, and institutionalised governance and corporate processes during a high-growth phase.
Baljee also spearheaded the company’s asset-light strategy and signed its initial management contracts, a division that has since grown to more than 100 operational third-party management contracts.
In his new role as Executive Director, he will spearhead the overall growth strategy of the group.
An alumnus of the Indian School of Business and the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, Baljee began his career in investment banking with Lehman Brothers and UBS, specialising in mergers and acquisitions before returning to India to build and scale hospitality and real estate platforms.
The Board stated that his entrepreneurial approach, financial discipline and operational clarity would position Royal Orchid Hotels strongly for its next phase of growth.
