Path to Power The Motwani Family

Ramesh (Bob) and Ramola Motwani first moved to St. Charles, Missouri, from India and built an import business. When the Motwanis, including their young sons Nitin and Dev, decided to move to warmer climates due to Bob’s health condition, the Motwanis decided to become motel owners in Fort Lauderdale after hearing about the destination’s lucrative hospitality market. Without any experience in hospitality, they bought the 49-room Merrimac Beach Resort. However, shortly after the Motwanis opened their hotel, the city cracked down on spring break crowds, enforcing a new ban on open containers and arresting thousands during spring break 1986. The next year, occupancy levels were slashed by more than 50%, and some operators lost their properties. The Motwanis hunkered down and kept the family business running while enlisting their two young boys to help wherever help was needed. Doubling down in the face of adversity, the Motwanis completed acquiring the balance of the block as properties were being foreclosed and shut down. These were the very early stages of the transformation we see today in the region.

Q: Early in your careers, what were the most valuable lessons that you learned?

A: DEV: Expect the unexpected. Changes in the market will come from where you least expect it, both good and bad. So you have to always be prepared for a downturn even while being aggressive and growing. Also being nice to people, treating them right and having a good reputation can help your success more than you might realize. A: NITIN: We learned early on to never give up. It will have taken 35 years from the time our family bought its first property to the time we open the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale Beach. There were numerous victories along the way, but more importantly, there were far more challenges. My brother and I watched our parents persevere against all odds. Upon our return from college and starting careers outside of Florida, we tried to carry the torch. In that same spirit of never giving up, I have been working to help bolster downtown Miami’s economic landscape for 15 years developing Miami Worldcenter, and also through my work at the Miami Downtown Development Authority. This can-do spirit is something I work very hard to instill in my own children.

A: RAMOLA: Never give up. Challenges will always be there in everyone’s life, whether it is work-related, family, financial, etc. We have to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have to continue working toward that light, but it takes positivity and courage. When things are most difficult, that is when it is most important to stay positive.

Q: Do you have any mentors who were instrumental in helping you achieve your goals?

A: DEV: Yes. Maybe not a mentor in the traditional sense, but a few people who were always generous to me with their time and advice. Phil Smith was a great friend and mentor, not so much in real estate development as he was primarily in the car business, but with life and business in general. Also Jim Motta from Arvida was

someone whose advice I sought, especially during tough times. And many others along the way like Terry Stiles.

A: NITIN: My father was an incredible mentor, and I only wish I had more time to spend with him. He taught me about having vision and big dreams, as well as how to work with people of all walks of life. My mother continues to be a mentor and lives her life under the mantra of putting family first while never giving up professionally. She did it all as a single mom, from running a business and devoting hours to charities and the temple, to the transformative civic work she took on in the community, all while making sure my brother Dev and I got only A’s in school, never missed a day of class and always found time to cook for us so we would eat healthy. She’s an extraordinary person. Professionally, I have had many mentors along the way who have shaped and continue to shape my life. To all of them, I am grateful.

A: RAMOLA: During my childhood, my parents and my grandfather were my mentors. When I came to the U.S. from a foreign country, there was no one. We had to jump in and figure it out on our own. The technological advances and ease of connectivity we have today simply weren’t there at the time.

Q: Are your companies and hotels taking any special measures in the face of the labor shortage in the hospitality industry to recruit and retain talent?

A: FAMILY: In November 2019, the Motwanis established the R. Motwani Family Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Broward College. The program currently offers three certificate programs and three associate degree programs in the restaurant, hospitality and tourism management fields. Programs develop the knowledge and skills that underpin an array of professions ranging from hotel management and food service to hospitality law and financial management. Classes are taught by faculty who provide real-world experience and teach using cutting-edge tools and techniques. This program is even more critical now as we confront the labor shortage challenges we are facing today.

A: RAMOLA: It’s not just about educating people for jobs in hospitality. Once you educate someone, that education has a ripple effect on their lives, the future of their family and generations to come.

Q: The vision that you have had for your Miami Worldcenter is amazing. What has been inspirational to you in terms of the design for this development?

A: NITIN: Miami Worldcenter is at the confluence of arts, entertainment, culture, transportation and education. We set out with a plan that focused on connecting all of those attributes by first investing $100 million in infrastructure, which included underground utilities and 200,000 square feet of landscaping, lighting, park space and pedestrian-friendly streets, all with unique shade structures. We wanted to put the pedestrian first and are so grateful to see this vision come to fruition. It’s great to see people having a better and safer pedestrian experience with 15- to 30-foot sidewalks rather than the typical 4-foot sidewalks you see in most places.

Q: What is the single greatest factor in the success of your careers?

A: DEV: Having people know they can trust me and like working with me. It seems obvious that those are important, but in business, and in development in particular, you need a lot of people to work with you and help you out as you move forward with a project, business, etc. Having a good reputation precede you makes developing those relationships much easier.

A: NITIN: Resiliency. Those early days watching my parents struggle due to factors outside of their control had a profound impact on my view of the world. When challenges occur, big or small, controllable or uncontrollable, it doesn’t matter. You have to find a way through it by having a great team, honoring your word and reputation, and being passionate about the end goal. It’s been a rollercoaster of a journey that is just getting started, and we are having the time of our lives!

A: RAMOLA: For me, it is to believe in yourself and stay focused. I repeat that to Nitin and Dev — and to myself. We all have a dream or dreams. If we believe that we are going to accomplish them, we will. Run with your dream, run toward it, and you’ll get there. There will always be challenges, but when we are determined, we will accomplish it.

Q: Is there anything that you would like to share with Florida’s hospitality industry?

A: DEV: I think the future is bright. We are in a great position across the state, thanks to our weather and business-friendly climate. But we also need to continue to elevate our game in terms of product and service as we move up the ladder in terms of demand; we have to always deliver the best experience to keep our guests coming back. My guest today will hopefully be your guest in the future, so the more we work together, the better we will be as an industry!

A: NITIN: While we should all be grateful for the success our state is experiencing, we need to remember that it’s a people business. We need to continue to invest in our talent if we are going to continue to grow and raise the bar as we all work so hard to do!

A: RAMOLA: I believe focusing on education is the key to the future of our industry. Education opens many doors, and if you can’t do one job, you can lean on your education to do or qualify for something else. Education means you have access to more opportunities. Hospitality is an industry of opportunity. It isn’t just customer service; it’s technology, accounting, revenue management, marketing, etc. People don’t realize it goes beyond front desks and guest services. There is ownership, regional management and more. With hospitality, the sky is the limit.

Dev Motwani

Managing Partner of Merrimac Ventures, Founder and Managing Partner of Ramesh Properties, Founder and Managing Partner of Chieftain Residential

Dev Motwani serves as managing partner of Merrimac Ventures and is also founder and managing partner of Ramesh Properties, a distressed real estate investment fund focused on opportunistic investments in residential and commercial development sites throughout South Florida. He currently oversees nearly $750 million in development projects. Current projects include the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, the Gale Boutique Hotel and Residences, as well as Las Olas Riverfront, all in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Dev is founder and managing partner of Chieftain Residential, a yield-oriented distressed residential fund purchasing singlefamily homes and residential land primarily in the Southeast U.S. and Texas. The fund aims to balance current income opportunities through the rental markets for its single-family home inventory, while also targeting capital appreciation in single-family homes and land as the U.S. residential market continues to rebound.

Ramola Motwani

Chairwoman of Merrimac Ventures

Ramola Motwani is the chairwoman of Merrimac Ventures, a real estate management, investment and development company with interests in the U.S. and India. The company is based in Fort Lauderdale where it employs over 100 people. Merrimac Ventures has properties in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Missouri.

Ramola Motwani was born and raised in India where she received her law degree. She began her business career in the U.S. with an import/ export business she started with her late husband, Ramesh “Bob” Motwani in St. Charles, Missouri. In the mid-1980s, they expanded the business into hotels by purchasing numerous properties on Fort Lauderdale Beach. They owned and operated, among others, the Merrimac and Gold Coast Beach Resort Hotels for many years until Bob passed away in 1994. Mrs. Motwani then took over operations of the entire company while raising two sons, Nitin and Dev, and expanded the business while becoming a very active local community leader.

Mrs. Motwani is active in the Fort Lauderdale community and has been very involved in beach development and redevelopment issues. Recently, she was appointed by the county mayor to the Tourist Development Council. She is an active member of the Broward Workshop, the United Way of Broward County, the Advisory Committee for the Business Improvement District on Fort Lauderdale Beach and recently served as vice chair of the Beach Redevelopment Advisory Board, which advises the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. She is a former chair of the Beach Council. She is a state board member of FRLA and was appointed by the Governor’s Office to the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.

Her civic-minded affiliations include president of the Alliance of Global Sindhi Associations and treasurer of the Global Sindhi Foundation. She is a life member of the Association of Indians in America, has represented Sindhi Adhikar Manch at the United Nations and serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Club. She has been involved in many other charities: the Citizens Volunteer Corps; a trustee of the South Florida Hindu Temple; past vice president of the India–U.S. Chamber of Commerce Inc., South Florida; and past president of the Sindhi Association of South Florida, as well as a founding member of International Chamber of GOPIO.

Mrs. Motwani has been recognized with numerous awards for her work including induction into the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame, the NSU Entrepreneur Hall of Fame and the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame and dozens of others. Nitin Motwani serves as managing partner of Merrimac Ventures and is also managing partner for Miami Worldcenter Associates. Mr. Motwani has overseen the development of Downtown Miami’s $4 billion Miami Worldcenter mixed-use real estate project since 2006. He continues to be responsible for every facet of the project, including land acquisition, zoning and entitlements, financing (public and private), joint ventures and development.

Prior to joining Merrimac Ventures and Miami Worldcenter, Mr. Motwani was an equity derivatives trader at Goldman Sachs in New York. Mr. Motwani was also involved in the creation of Encore Housing Opportunity Fund (Encore), a private equity fund focused on opportunistic real estate investments and development. He has overseen investments totaling more than $1 billion in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona through his work with Encore.

An active member of the greater South Florida business community, Mr. Motwani serves on the board of the Miami Downtown Development Authority where he is the cochair of the enterprise committee. He also served as board chair of the University of Miami’s Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program and is currently on the board. He has also served as co-chair for One Community One Goal, Miami Dade County’s long-term strategic plan for economic development. Nationally, he is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Urban Land Institute (ULI), and International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He is also a member of City Year’s Red Jacket Society. Mr. Motwani is actively involved in the R. Motwani Family Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Broward College.

Mr. Motwani earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Duke University and holds a master of science degree in real estate development from Columbia University.

Nitin Motwani

Managing Partner of Merrimac Ventures, Managing Partner of Miami Worldcenter Associates