How a family planted deep Greenville roots to grow a hotel empire.

• Position: South Carolina, Auro Hotels, Rama family

When DJ Rama's father and uncles came to Greenville in 1976 always looking for opportunities they had no idea they would be creating a legacy.

Fast forward 47 years, and Auro Hotels, which is headquartered in Greenville, is an international company with offices in Atlanta and Surat, India, and develops, owns and operates nearly 40 hotels across the Southeast.

There is no doubt that Auro Hotels has transformed downtown Greenville playing a key role in the city's revitalization and has given the hospitality and tourism scene a boost.

Rama, president and CEO of Auro Hotels, shared a Sanskrit saying Atithi Devo Bhava, which translates to "guests are to be revered and treated as family," and embodies the Rama's hospitality philosophy.

"Why we are so passionate about the hospitality and tourism industry takes me back to our roots," said Rama. "The values my father and grandfather taught me is to take care of guests and give them shelter."

After being raised in the Camelot motel on Augusta Road starting in 1976, he said a passion for the industry is in his DNA.

"It's not about having a manual but having a heart and creating a soul and culture of a company as owners and developers," he said. "And that is reflected in the way we treat our associates at the corporate office down to how we take care of our guests in each of our hotels."

Through hard work and perseverance, the company's first hotel was acquired in 1973, while the first hotel they built one of the first Hampton Inns was in 1986 in Augusta.

After the success of building their first hotel, Auro later acquired land in Greenville to build the Fairfield Inn on Pelham Road in Greenville in 1994, said Rama. This was the start of a long-term partnership with the Marriott brand of hotels.

Rama said the company began a special relationship with Marriott around the time he took his first job after college with Marriott Corporate.

"To become a franchisee, they wanted us to start at the bottom, as with anything, but later, the Fairfield Inn franchise led us to our first full-service Marriott hotel on the Parkway," said Rama. "This acquisition was an important step in our growth. We of course love other brands like Hilton and Hyatt but have a special bond with Marriott due to the history, and we want to grow that moving forward."

Now, 72% of Auro's hotel portfolio is made up of Marriott-branded hotels.

When it comes to Greenville, what Auro discovered was the quality of life and nature that is unique...