From Czech Entrepreneur to Indonesian Hospitality Founder: The Journey of Petr Hemerka

From student entrepreneur in the Czech Republic to leading ARYA across four Indonesian islands, Petr Hemerka’s journey spans business and hospitality.

BALI, INDONESIA, October 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Long before Petr Hemerka was developing villas and resorts across Indonesia, he was building businesses in the Czech Republic.

The Czech entrepreneur, now CEO and Founder of ARYA Properties and ARYA Resorts, began his entrepreneurial journey while still a student. His early ventures took him through industries ranging from advertising and large-format printing to e-commerce, public charging infrastructure, short-term rentals and investment-related businesses. His career eventually brought him to Indonesia, where his focus shifted toward property development and hospitality.

Today, Hemerka leads ARYA Properties and ARYA Resorts, which together employ more than 600 people across development, construction, hospitality and resort operations. The companies operate across Bali, Sumba, Lombok and Sumbawa, with a business model that extends from identifying and developing properties through to the management of completed resorts and villas.

For Hemerka, however, the path from European entrepreneur to Indonesian hospitality founder was not a straightforward move from one industry into another. Each business added another layer of experience that would later influence how he approached ARYA.

His early advertising business, Reklama Express, exposed him to managing projects for commercial clients. He later founded Sablio, an e-commerce company that designed and produced its own home and gift products and operated across several European markets before the company was sold in 2021. He was also involved with ChargeBox infrastructure in Central Europe, an experience that required building a network rather than simply selling a product.

Hemerka’s career also included experience in short-term rentals in Prague, giving him direct exposure to the operational side of accommodation before hospitality became the central focus of his business activities.

Those experiences helped shape his view that creating an asset is only one part of building a sustainable business around it.

“Launching something is the exciting part, but the real work begins after that,” said Hemerka. “Whether it is a product, a property or a resort, you eventually have to prove that the operation behind it works. That has influenced how I approach ARYA today.”

That philosophy can be seen in the relationship between ARYA Properties and ARYA Resorts. Rather than operating purely as a developer that completes a property and hands it over, the wider ARYA ecosystem is designed to remain involved from development through hospitality operations and long-term management.

ARYA Properties manages the development side of the business, while ARYA Resorts operates the hospitality environment around completed projects, including reservations, guest services, food and beverage, resort activities, property management, promotion and daily operations.

Hemerka describes himself publicly as an active founder rather than a distant owner. His LinkedIn profile notes that he remains involved not only in strategic decisions but also in day-to-day operations, communication with investors, marketing and quality control at construction sites.
That hands-on approach has become more significant as ARYA has expanded.

The company’s development journey began in Sumba with ARYA Sumba - Kodi before expanding into Lombok, Sumbawa and eventually Bali. The portfolio now includes beachfront and nature-led resort projects as well as developments in established lifestyle areas such as Seminyak and Uluwatu.
ARYA Sumba - Kodi has since progressed from development into active resort operations, providing Hemerka and his team with the opportunity to manage both sides of the equation: creating the property and then operating it for real guests.

For Hemerka, that transition is particularly important.
“A presentation can make almost any development look good,” he said. “For me, the more important stage comes when people actually arrive. Does the property work? Are guests satisfied? Can the team deliver the experience that was promised? That is when the idea becomes a real business.”

His entrepreneurial philosophy also reflects lessons from businesses he has previously sold. Hemerka publicly lists successful exits from ventures including Sablio and Reklama Express, while his ChargeBox business was also sold after establishing operations in Central Europe.

Rather than leading him toward increasingly short-term ventures, those experiences appear to have pushed his current focus in the opposite direction.
In his public profile, Hemerka describes his ambition not as becoming the largest developer, but as building projects that endure and maintaining a reputation for delivering on commitments.

That philosophy has also shaped his expansion into hospitality concepts beyond accommodation. ARYA’s wider plans include restaurants, beach clubs, guest experiences and other facilities intended to create a more complete destination around its properties.

For a founder who has previously moved between industries, Hemerka now sees property and hospitality as a long-term focus rather than simply his latest entrepreneurial project.

“I have built different businesses in my life, and each one taught me something,” Hemerka said. “But with property and hospitality, there is a permanence that I really value. You are building something physical, creating jobs, welcoming guests and becoming part of a destination. You have to think years ahead, not only about the next quarter.”

Today, with projects across four Indonesian islands and more than 600 employees across ARYA Properties and ARYA Resorts, the scale of the company is very different from the businesses Hemerka began while still a student.

The principle behind them, however, remains familiar: identify an opportunity, understand how the business works from the inside, and remain close enough to the operation to know whether the promise is actually being delivered.

About Petr Hemerka
Petr Hemerka is a Czech entrepreneur and the CEO and Founder of ARYA Properties and ARYA Resorts. His entrepreneurial background includes businesses in advertising, e-commerce, public charging infrastructure, short-term rentals and investment-related ventures.
He currently leads ARYA’s property development and hospitality businesses in Indonesia, with projects across Sumba, Lombok, Sumbawa and Bali.

Sagita Fahrina
ARYA Properties
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