Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?

It was not a well planned career and I had no idea about the hospitality industry when I started my Diploma in Hotel Management from IHMCTAN, Kolkata in 1997. It was a casual walk on the streets of Kolkata (Calcutta then) with my best friend and I found the Hotel Management entrance test forms (photocopied of course which we used to call 'xerox copy' then) were there with one of the vendors. My +2 result was not good, I lost my dad just 15 days before the final exam and my future was uncertain. My friend Manohar insisted that I fill up the form and I did. That was the beginning of this journey. However, life was not easy in Hotel Management days, I was from a vernacular medium and had very poor English communication. I remember, in those days we had to face Group Discussion as the first stage for all Campus interviews and not to my surprise that I couldn't clear even one!

Now, after 23 years of beautiful journey in the Industry, working with brands like, MINOR Hotels, Anantara, LHW, COMO Hotels and Resorts, Six Senses in different countries including Malaysia, Maldives, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, I feel blessed. It was just a small dream I had and God probably had a different plan altogether! 

What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?

There are just 3 things to be a champion. The most important is Integrity. You have to be honest to yourself. It doesn't matter who is watching you doing something great or whether you have been evaluated rightly. Hard work, passionate dedication can never go unnoticed.

Number two is Unconditional respect for others. Irrespective of the position one has to love, care, and be kind to others. One should greet everyone with a smile, should have genuine interest in others, should call everyone by name and should be there for any assistance anyone may need him/ her for.

And, Finally Learning. You should learn everyday, from everyone, in every situation and have the flair of learning something new every day. That is the true motivation.

Share with us 5 skills that you think will be critical for a hospitality career in the future.

I would summarize this question to Integrity, Unconditional commitment to people, to company and to self, Passion (Love what you do), Punctuality and Emotional Intelligence

What does the future look like? For the industry, you, your project / initiative.

I am answering this question from the perspective of Luxury Hospitality. The future of the Hospitality Industry is not making money, it's building relationships. It's all about treating guests as a part of the family, making emotional engagements, crafting beautiful stories for them. So, you need people with balanced emotions and a creative sense of delivering small yet strong connecting moments.

What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring?

Attitude is first, willingness to learn, passion for the job, how far you can stretch yourself to succeed, need for that job, the balance between position and years of experience, emotional intelligence, understanding of situational handling, and the basic knowledge and skills required for the position, etc.

What is your favourite interview question & why?

Tell me a situation when you did something out of your job responsibility and how did you feel about it?

I prefer to ask this question to understand his flexibility, his commitment out of the box, his response to a specific demanding situation, his moment of truth to cheer for accomplishment and also to understand his emotional balance., 

Describe an ideal hospitality professional.

Ethical, polite, kind, smiling, energetic, walks fast and tall, punctual and respectful.

Making a vision into a reality can be very daunting. We would love a deep dive into your process for all your initiatives.

Quite a few actually. I just want to highlight one very close to my heart. When I was working with one of the properties in Kolkata, early days of my career as Training Manager. I faced regular challenges from 2 active unions, aged people who all had been working for so many years. I realized they needed respect, acknowledgement, a sense of self-achievement. We started a hand-written magazine with the contribution of poems, essays, write-ups, paintings from the employees and also the contribution from their family members and kids. That magazine created a tremendous engagement and attachment to drive the behavioral modification with desired respect and emotion.

Share some of your secrets in keeping an engaged, safe and happy team.

Knowing everyone at personal level, knowing the name of their kids, their birthdays, team member's likes and dislikes, respecting everyone, starting the day with a big smile, greeting everyone, spending few minutes to know people better and checking on the team members, having genuine interest to check with someone who said that his wife was not keeping well or her mother had a cough. Finally the top 2 things, never miss an opportunity to appreciate people and never stop celebrating even the smallest success for your team.