Astoria Hotel (Dubai)

We are called Astoria Hotel (Dubai), but our actual work spot is at 1 Barvekar Chawl in Ashok Nagar. It’s in the Mumbai 400059 area. It might seem strange to have a name like that while being in a chawl, but that’s just how things ended up for us. The chawl is a busy place with families living all around us. There’s always the sound of someone washing clothes or a radio playing in the background. Our space is just a single room where we handle the bookings and the phone calls. It’s got a heavy iron door and the floor is just plain cement. We don't have any air conditioning, so we keep the windows open and the big ceiling fan going all day. Ashok Nagar is a crowded part of Mumbai, and you have to walk through some very tight alleys to find us. We don't have a big sign or any flags outside. Most of the neighbors know what we do, and sometimes they drop by for a chat while we are working on the ledgers. It’s a far cry from a luxury hotel, but this is where the actual work happens. We spend a lot of time on the computer, making sure everything is lined up for the guests who stay in the actual hotel rooms. It’s a bit of a grind, especially in the heat, but we’ve been doing it this way for years now and it works for us. We just keep going every day.