Dewi Makes, academic and CEO of Plataran Hotels

"I was born in Java to Indonesian parents, but I've always had a passion for France and its culture. That's how I started my teaching career, and since 1990 I've been working as a professor of French linguistics at the Faculty of Humanities at Universitas Indonesia. At the same time, I've always loved old things, especially carved wood. So at first I opened a small gallery to sell objects that I'd picked up here and there. Then one day, I fell under the spell of a joglo, one of the old royal wooden houses typical of Java. I started a collection... not a very practical one, I admit! So my husband and I bought a plot of land in South Jakarta to install a few of them. That's how the Plataran project was born in 2009, which means 'the courtyard'. First, we opened an events space, because we had noticed that there were few, if any, charming and traditional places to hold weddings or celebrations in the capital. It was an instant success! So much so that, almost immediately afterwards, we opened a hotel in Bali, in the same spirit of preserving and teaching Indonesian traditions. We went from one hotel to another. We now have properties in Jakarta, Puncak, Borobodur, Bali, on the marvellous island of Komodo and soon a new hotel near the Bromo volcano, in East Java... What makes me happy is that the international clientele, often French, very keen on authentic places, is now followed by a local clientele that is increasingly interested in its own heritage. I love this diversity, and also the idea of being able to help educate Indonesians about their own culture. What's more, being a business owner doesn't prevent me from continuing to teach a few courses at university. It allows me to maintain a balance between the world of business and the life of the mind!