Following a recent lunch in Morrisville, Yogesh Manocha excused himself as he walked back toward the hotel lobby — his hotel lobby, to be more exact. A bank executive was waiting for him.

Life these days for the Cary resident and recent hotel owner is quite a change from his former one as a computer consultant.

“Three years ago I just decided I have this experience and knowledge,” Manocha said. “I didn’t want to get up at 8 and have the stress of going to work. I felt I can do better for myself.”

“Better” is being his own boss and, together with his business partners, calling the shots as the four-story hotel began to rise from the ground — a site off Airport Boulevard in Morrisville.

Things have slowed down since the hotel was completed a few months ago.

But from the time the land was purchased and loans secured for the Cambria Suites franchise, Manocha has seen many 15-hour days chock full of meetings and site inspections, interior selections, hiring staff and marketing.

The president and ‘front man’ of an investment group called Carolina Hotels & Resorts, LLC, Manocha has been hands on with many of the upscale hotel’s details, even making suggestions on modifications to the design.

But that has been fine with him. “I’m a people person,” he said.

At a crossroads
Manocha, who’s from India, came to the United States in 1991 to get his master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of South Florida.

He later began working for the State of Florida as an air pollution engineer. Soon he found himself veering away from chemical engineering and digging into databases. He switched to the IT department.

“I know how to do this; I’ve learned it myself,” he would tell his employers.

Locally, Manocha became an IT professional for companies that included Paradigm Genetics Inc. and most recently, Network Appliance Inc.

His wife is also a computer person. The couple have two daughters. A few years ago Manocha found himself approaching 40 and thought about leaving his job to branch into commercial development.

“I knew that this is the time to do it; if I don’t do it now, I may never,” he said.

He thought about developing a small shopping center. Then, “I came across this site and thought what a great site for a hotel.”

It’s pretty obvious that one doesn’t become a hotel owner overnight.

Manocha needed money to make the leap. He approached several friends, doctors and professionals, about investing in his project.

Turns out, he has very good friends. But the fact that he formed the partnerships also speaks volumes about the man himself.

“It was unbelievable,” said Dr. Yudhish Markan, a Baltimore doctor who met Manocha through a mutual close friend. “It was trust at first sight.

He’s got the full package — he’s smart, very well educated, he had a business background. But more than any of that was the sincerity he came across with. They say you judge a person by the company he keeps,” Markan said, referring to their mutual friend, whom Markan has known for years. “I never felt like we made a mistake.”

Preparations
Manocha may have needed help with the funding, but he took on the project like a man with a passion. He did his research. Through the process he learned about permits and inspections, building materials and codes, franchising and marketing. He visited other Cambria Suites throughout the country before choosing the franchise.

One thing snuck up on Manocha in the middle of construction: the economy. Luckily he had already gotten financing when banks began to dry up last summer. Nevertheless, businesswise, “we were prepared for the bad time,” he said.

For one thing, he had hired a sales and marketing director well before opening and began preparing to fill rooms.

Manocha said many of the same skills he used as an employee have transferred to his new role as hotel owner. He also thinks that his Indian heritage has prepared him for being a good steward of the resources he has been given.

“[In India] we work on a postage-stamp budget,” Manocha said. “We budget and try to do things very efficiently with good business practices.”

Cambria Suites had its grand opening last month. It’s billed as the first lifestyle hotel in this market. What’s that mean? “Designed for the way you live,” according to a hotel brochure.

Among the more notable features are a screen with live flight information from the airport; large guest suites, many organic foods, complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access and a 24/7 coffee bar.

The excitement shows in Manocha’s conversation: “We’re very happy about what we did here,” he said.

So happy, in fact, that he’s ready to do it all over again.

Manocha said he is negotiating on another site for yet another local development project. He’s in talks with a food chain that ought to create some buzz but he can’t yet say which one.

Manocha’s also looking for a restaurant chain for an outparcel on the hotel grounds. He’s thinking either Italian or seafood.

He doesn’t appear to take his relative success for granted, recalling when he came to this country with the clothes on his back and $3,000 for his first semester of grad school.

“The beauty of America,” Manocha said, “is if you work hard and have a little bit of intelligence, you’re going to be successful.”