Exclusive Interview | Rahul Panwar, General Manager, GRAND MERCURE Gandhinagar

Your focus paired with a positive attitude will have you rising quickly through the industry

Mr.Rahul Panwar

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

With over 16 years of experience in the hospitality business, I’m currently the General Manager of Grand Mercure GIFT City - an Accor Hotel in Gujarat, where I’m responsible to lead a team of very passionate and hard-working individuals.

This journey started in 2006 as a Bartender and then a Receptionist at a 5-star International Hotel in Delhi after completing my bachelor's in Hotel Management. It seemed a bit challenging when I started, but engaging with new people every day and learning to value them, taught me a lot about the industry. Since then, it’s been an amazing ride with some of the renowned hotel brands across few countries including the USA, China, Vietnam, and of course, India.

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

The hospitality industry is a people-driven business; by understanding human behavior, you’ll not only understand what the market needs but will stand against competitors by creating unique experiences while developing customer loyalty. It is important to understand the culture of your team, accept differences and individuality and know what motivates people to create a healthy working environment. A positive attitude, good listening skills, and desire to innovate can help you go places.

Embrace challenges, they make you better at your job.

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

For me, the below 5 characteristics matter the most during any hiring:

• Confidence

• Emotional Intelligence

• Willingness to learn & adapt

• Creativity

• Communication

What advice would you give to a young, aspiring hotelier for their internship?

I would like to share 3 lessons or “P”s that I have learned in the last 16 years.

#1 Patience - It’s all about timing. Your focus paired with a positive attitude will have you rising quickly through the industry ranks. Great opportunities rarely present themselves, and when they do-you must be ready.

#2 Passion – It’s about commitment and determination to succeed. Passion is the root of success in our industry and hoteliers thrive on achieving more, be it customer & employee satisfaction or profits. The real push always needs to come from within.

#3 Problems – Lastly, it’s about making mistakes and learning from them. Hospitality is a testing industry and no textbook can cover the learnings from your real experiences.

What is the one tech/app/software feature you would like to see?  This could be for guests, operations, etc. 

An app that can educate a traveler on energy saving and climate change by calculating carbon emissions from the moment they’re en route to their destination (flight & road transport), energy consumed in rooms during their stay with all lighting/air conditioning/electrical equipment switched on, average single-use plastic items used in the stay and much more.

What is your favorite interview question and why?

My favorite interview question is quite short & simple: “Why did you apply for this role?”; but if rightly answered, it can help me understand the sole motivation and cover multiple questions like Why she/he want this job? Why is the candidate leaving his current job? Why are you the best person for this job? And, Why do you want to work for this company?