Exclusive Interview | Ayon Bhattacharya, Vice President West India, The Orchid Hotel
/“An ideal Hotel Professional to me is the one who has the below 5 P attributes:
Be Positive
Be Present
Be Prompt
Be Passionate
Be Product Centric”
What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry as an aspiring Hotel Manager ?
Aspiring Hotel Managers should demonstrate exemplary leadership by exhibiting 100% commitment to all stakeholders in their business, including guests, employees, vendors, and owners. One should prioritize delivering quality service and implement tools to measure key indicators for assessing satisfaction levels . Prompt corrective action should be taken based on these metrics.
It is essential for Hotel Managers to lead by example and inspire their team to become leaders themselves instead of mere followers.
Share with us adaptability parameters and key change indicators that you think will be critical for a Hotel’s Success in the future.
Being observant and understanding to the evolving trends of the customers as consumer behaviour is changing in years which used to change in decades in the past.
Being adaptable and innovative in approach in terms of service delivery.
Embracing technology as an enabler but it should not be overbearing. Technology should be friendly and easy to use for employees and consumers.
Having the Right service design keeping the Millennials in mind. Healthy Menu, Communal interacting space, High speed internet to enjoy personal internet content and a Loyalty Program that’s highly engaging are the way ahead.
Having a Global pitch, we need to embrace Local in terms of food, experience and Hotel designs instead of the given parameters of Room, Food and Service as a norm
Flexibility in our approach to business and going beyond the set SOP is the key decider in such highly competitive environment
The new, young traveller wants experiences. What do you have in store for them?
While online news sources are a little obsessed with millennials’ demands for outlandish technology (like smartphone check-ins, robot concierges and apps for ordering room service), it doesn’t have to be that complicated.
Just a fast check-in and checkout without standing in a que is what they look for along with a seamless communication with the Hotel team during stay But there is one amenity that all millennials just expect as a given these days, and that’s free High speed internet access to enjoy their personal content over internet and OTT.
Healthy food - Millennials are very health-conscious. They expect certain dietary options to be available on your menu. Including organic, gluten-free and vegan items tells them that you’re sympathetic to their need, offer some complimentary grab-and-go breakfast items so they can stick to their budget, get out and explore early, free water bottles in their rooms in favour of a mini-bar and a vending machine in the lobby so they can purchase ready to make convenience food on a
24-hour basis.Older millennials travelling for business are more likely to indulge in a fancy breakfast so have the right balanced breakfast.
Communal spaces- millennials want to meet the other people staying at their hotel. An indoor communal area with a TV and a snack bar . Organising casual tours of the area also offers them the opportunity to mingle.
Loyalty programs with a twist - Younger travellers want a good deal more than anything, which is why they aren't particularly attached to one hotel brand. But that doesn’t mean they won’t join hotel loyalty programs – they just need the right incentive. Those who do join tend to be in the older 25-34 age bracket, because they have more advanced careers and higher incomes.
Launching something new is both an exciting opportunity and a responsibility. Share with us a deep dive into your process for these new launches.
New Launches is a complex activity which comes with adherence of a strict timeline from design conceptualisation, MEP activation of energy efficient and cost effective machines to arrive to a fast ROI cycle. Getting the Mock up rooms done and replicating similar interior designs and trends all across from Hotel Exterior to Public areas. Selection of vendors and driving them to delivers the project to the preopening stage.
Setting the PMS and getting the website ready and integration of PMS with the booking engine to the distribution platform. It also involves the hiring process of the leadership team and employees along with setting up the Sales team, Defining the SOP of the hotel and undergoing the preopening training procedure, snagging and simulation of the rooms, banquets, Restaurants and Public area.
Its an exciting journey equivalent to conceiving an idea to giving birth to baby, nurturing it till it starts blooming and producing results.
What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring?
I look for people who comes with an open adaptable mind . I look for what learnings they had got working any various Hotel companies in their career in terms of process, culture and innovations and what best they can add to our business.
Describe an ideal hospitality professional.
An ideal Hotel Professional to me is the one who has the below 5 P attributes:
Be Positive - In thought and action.
Be Present - in listening , seeing and being attentive undivided and living in the moment.
Be Prompt – As the being prompt in offer resolution or solution ala minute.
Be Passionate – Passion driven by enthusiasm as this attribute is a differentiator of being ahead of the ordinary.
Be Product Centric – being aware of your product and competitors and having the cutting edge over others.
