Views & Interviews

In conversation with Jai Sreedhar, Joint Managing Director and CEO, Rosetta by Ferns

November, 2019

Ferns Estates & Developers is a premium 30-year-old establishment based out of Bengaluru. Popularly known for developing gated communities in the city, it made a planned move into the timeshare and vacation ownership segment, about two and half years ago under the brand “Rosetta by Ferns”.

We now chat with Jai Sreedhar, about the brand’s entry into the hospitality industry and the unique customer experiences the company has in store for its members.

To start with, please give us an overview of Rosetta by Ferns…

Rosetta by Ferns is a boutique timeshare company that aims to operate and manage a growing chain of 5-star luxury resorts located in the most idyllic locations in South India.

We are here to re-define the timeshare market, because a luxury vacation is no longer an expenditure, but an experience of creating priceless memories. All this, without worrying about inflation - what’s more, at the end of the membership tenure we return your money back. (That’s a very important highlight.)

Our mission is to create a credible and yet affordable luxury-boutique lifestyle brand that delights guests every single time they visit our properties. We shall leverage our immense background knowledge and experience in creating premium gated communities and spaces, to consistently deliver experiences that enthrall.

Please give us an overview of your first resort – where is it located?

Bangalore is a hub for IT and startup enthusiasts and this segment is always seeking weekend getaways - something that is closer to the city and even closer to Mother Nature. So, to address this need we started our first project Rosetta by Ferns at Sakleshpur. This is a 125-key resort, set amidst 100 acres of coffee plantation – it is a 3-hour drive from Bangalore.

This nature’s abode is designed for families, where they could spend quality time steeped in modern luxury and a touch of the traditional elegance of the Malnad region. Rosetta by Ferns provides a holistic holiday experience to the quintessential urban holiday seeker.

What are Rosetta’s membership formats?

We at Rosetta believe in “Your holiday Your Way” – and we have given our members the freedom and flexibility to make their choices when it comes to travel dates and accommodation. We do not have any seasonal restrictions, and our offerings have a unique point-based system.

Our Club Holiday Membership programs, comprising Club Rosetta Silver, Club Rosetta Gold and Club Rosetta Diamond are designed to cater to members from all segments and aspirations - to experience the holiday of luxury and create unforgettable memories with their loved ones.

Our Director’s Club membership offers 7 nights, year after year for the next 20 years - and this is across three categories. Additionally, with our unique point-based system one can take this right up to 11 nights at any of our resorts.

Do you have a partnership to deliver an exchange option to customers?

Yes, we are in fact South India’s first luxury membership program to partner with The Registry Collection – a global leader in luxury vacation exchange.

With around 50,000 members globally, The Registry Collection is an exclusive program with 240 affiliated properties in over 40 Countries and 6 continents – covering everything from condo hotels and high-end fractional resorts, to private residence clubs and fractional yachts. The Registry Collection provides its members with access to an elite network of the finest vacation properties at some of the world’s premium destinations.

What’s different about Rosetta by Ferns in terms of customer experience?

We believe in crafting experiences from meticulously designed micro-touch points, based on the knowledge that we have gained from more than three decades of experience in hospitality. With us, it starts from the arrival experience - all our Club Rosetta Gold members will have the benefit of a no-delay check-in that happens inside your room.

Our private abode features expansive living spaces enhanced by high vaulted ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows that provide picturesque and expansive views of the coffee plantation. (This is what truly inspired us to create Rosetta.)

We take care of the minutest details starting from your sleep, by providing custom designed posturepedic mattresses, to fully personalised pillow menus. Your dining experience is another chapter in this experience, with custom curated menus from our award winning chefs. We let you experience some of the best that our surroundings have to offer, and designed to bring you an unforgettable culinary experience. (Our farm-to-table fresh produce is part of the story.)

We offer an open-to-sky outdoor shower experience and sundecks in small gardens outside the rooms where the guests can sit and have their personal time. Furthermore, we are offering private barbeque spaces where the chefs can prepare some delectable barbeque dishes – LIVE - in front of the guests.

Our motivation and thinking is about designing places that people can visit with their loved ones – unwinding from their busy schedules. We are also inspired by local experiences and talent. In Rosetta By Ferns, Sakleshpur, each cluster showcases a segment of Karnataka (Mangalorean and Coorg themes, among others.) The food that we offer is also inspired by rich local ingredients and cuisines.

Also, as a matter of policy, we have encouraged local painters and artisans for painting and installation of sculptures and artifacts at our resorts.

What are your initiatives linked to sustainability? (There’s so much emphasis about that right now.)

Sustainability is not what Rosetta does, but it is actually who we are and what we stand for. We at Rosetta have made sure that our resorts are ecologically sustainable. And we have taken several steps in this direction to ensure sustainability - starting from the construction stage, right down to the operations.

For construction sustainability we have used Weigner Berger clay tiles (as opposed to concrete) which comes with inbuilt temperature control benefits. This to a large extent helps in limiting energy consumption. We have also consciously made sure of sourcing building materials, locally.

Based on in-house research, all equipments used in the resort are aligned to standards of low energy consumption. (Going a long way in reducing the carbon footprint.)

We are currently in the process of applying for the prestigious IGBC platinum certification. Once that happens, we will be the first resort in South India (and the second across India) to obtain this certification.

We are using the Reed Bed system for waste management which uses anaerobic bacteria to purify the waste. This measure goes hand-in-hand with the setting up a composting program to use solid waste as manure.

We are also the first resort in India to employ hydroponic farm technology – taking care of 70 to 80 percent of the food requirements at the resort. The offtake happens on a daily basis, making the demand-supply cycle self-sufficient.

At the end of the day we are proud that we have not altered the natural ecosystem out here. In addition to the existing 10,000 trees, we have planted 5000 trees and worked hard to revive and retain natural lakes and rainwater ponds in the area.

Our employees are a happy lot as well, because we provide 100% accommodation – which also encourages them to walk the short distances to work.

Jai Sreedhar

Joint Managing Director & CEO, Rosetta by Ferns

Jai is the co-founder of Rosetta by Ferns. As the Joint Managing Director and CEO, Jai drives the day-to-day operations of Rosetta that includes design, projects, finance, HR and most critically the design and operation of the product Club Rosetta that he is personally passionate about.

Jai comes with more than 18 years of experience in hospitality, his core specialization being leisure hospitality. He started his career with The Leela Palace Hotels and Resorts - and in a career spanning more than a decade and a half with them, was instrumental in driving domestic and overseas business for all the group’s portfolios as the Head of Leisure for the chain. He was closely involved with the launch of some of Leela’s marquee assets like Leela, Kovalam,  Leela Palace, Udaipur, Leela Palace, New Delhi and Leela Palace, Chennai.

Jai holds a master’s degree in Business Administration along with postgraduate qualifications in Hospitality Management from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and an honor’s diploma from the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

In his spare time, Jai is a voracious reader, world traveller, economics enthusiast and has a fond liking for classical music.