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

I started my journey as an Associate in Front Office with an Oberoi Hotel in Udaipur, after passing out of college, and I grew up the ranks in the last 20 years to become a General Manager. My passion for Food & Beverage brought me to this industry.

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

My success is a result of complete dedication and unparalleled passion which has led me to become what I am today.

Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?

I look for the right attitude, communication & technical knowledge based on the designation while hiring. If someone wants to work with me they should work on these attributes for self-improvement.

Editor: What according to you can trainees do while they are training at hotels to make it a win-win for them & the hotel/unit?

All trainees should make the best use of whatever work/ department is being assigned to them and look for an opportunity to gain all possible knowledge in whatever they are doing. They must also watch and learn as much as possible. If any doubts they should keep making notes and clarify them with the departmental mentors, seniors. Usually, the trainees, who are assigned basic responsibilities in hotels while they are training, think meagre jobs are worthless but they must remember that if they learn those jobs today they will know how to handle the people doing those jobs tomorrow as they would know what those people go through eg: handling bell desk, restaurant mise-en-place etc:

Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

The latest trend during these COVID times are digitalisation and this would be resulting in contactless services across the hotels making it human interface free. This would give a sense of hygienic reassurance to guests visiting hotels.

Editor: Tech is now an enabler for great hospitality. Can you share with us some of the tech that goes into creating your guest experience?

As mentioned above contactless check-in, check out, contactless menu ordering, contactless payments, contactless in-room services through Alexa/ Siri room controllers, contactless valet parking, robotic live cooking stations etc: are the latest tech trends which are being used in hotels today. Some hotels have also gone completely robotic for all services across the hotel.

Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.

A Change I wouldn’t but yes I would like to Work toward the Recognition of Hospitality Industry as an Important Industry contributing towards the Indian Economy which unfortunately is not happening as of now. We have seen that Our Industry which was the worst affected during the COVID Crisis didn’t receive any support in lieu of the Huge Job Losses, Salary Cuts & Economic Crunch faced due to lockdown and reduced guests travels.

I also believe that the Employee Satisfaction & Engagement of Hospitality Industry Workforce needs to be worked upon more seriously and that is an initiative which senior management need to look at in a manpower-intensive industry such as ours.

Editor: What can we expect in the coming year?

This financial year is going to be a tough one considering the economic slowdown in the entire hospitality industry, there are a lot of uncertainties and therefore the industry has to think on creative solutions, new avenues to achieve revenues & reduce costs.