Exclusive Interview | Joseph C B D’Couto CHA, FIH, Director, JD Consultancy
/“Remember all employees names by heart and address them by name whether you are a GM/VP/CEO. People are important Assets.”
Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
Self Started as a Mini Bar Attendant In Holiday Inn Bahrain Filling Mini bars with Miniatures and Juices and Mixers, In the Evenings Self would work in The Bar as a Bar Boy washing Glasses and Stacking Beers and Taking out the Garbage.
What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
You Need to Be Sharp , Anticipative, Quick on Thinking and Able to analyse the Best Decision on the Way Forward.
Share with us 5 skills that you think will be critical for a hospitality career in the future.
The Five things Required that will be Critical for a Career in the Future is, Attitude, Power of Positive Thinking, Planning , Anticipating and Delivering Things on Schedule besides having knowledge of Hospitality.
What does the future look like? For the industry, you, your project / initiative.
The Future is bright as there are more People going to travel on Leisure holidays besides Corporate Travel and Work, This will result in More hotels and more organised and Branded hotels too. Self is helping Two owners build their new hotels one in Mumbai and one in Rajkot. The Owner is Mangalore is planning to take on More Hotels on Management Contract so My Portfolio will get larger besides two running hotels one in Rajkot and one in Mangalore and two hotels being built.
What is your favourite interview question?
One of my Most Favourite Questions was to ask The Candidate “ Where do you see yourself in 5 Years in this hotel “ to see his attitude and sincerity to climb the ladder of success it always brought out the best in the candidates and could realise their potential.
Describe an ideal hospitality professional.
A Person who is Well Organised in his Work and Time Management, Authorising and Delegating his Work to his Colleagues to get them to Learn and Develop their Future Skills in Management Decision making and To who creates a Healthy and Happy Work Culture in the Place he is Working at.
Making a vision into a reality can be very daunting. We would love a deep dive into your process for all your initiatives.
One of my Initiatives was to start an Open Door Policy in 1995 when self was in Les Roches Switzerland finishing my Diploma in Hotel Management but because of this got rejected by Hotel Management Company, The other initiative was to have Employees Meeting with the GM in a Town hall meeting and explain to them the path we want to follow so everyone was on the Same page, The other initiative was to remember all Employees names by Heart wherever self worked and address them by name whether self is a GM/VP/CEO/DIR/Principal Advisor as they are important Assets.
How do you think AI will impact our industry? Specific jobs, processes etc?
Self thinks AI will replace Waiters and Baristas and Cooks but the Human Touch and Relations that the hotel industry is all about is essential that owners and Brands think seriously about not going the AI Way.
What does JD Consultancy do? Who should get in touch with you and for what?
JD Consultancy is Hotel Management Consultant and Is a Principal Advisor to Owners, Self helps owners, Plan hotels, Build hotels, Tie up with Brands where relevant, Than Asset Manage their Properties to ensure that they Optimise Revenues and Maximise Profits. Owners Planning to build and set up hotels should reach out to JD Consultancy and also Start up Hotel Companies to who would need JD Consultancy’s Expertise.
