Exclusive Interview | Saravanan Dhanabalu, General Manager, Fortune Select JP Cosmos
/“Two things you would like to change in the industry?
Employee Emoluments & Tailor-Made Hospitality Operations & Administration Geographically.”
Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
Hospitality Industry Journey started in the year 1994 as a Management Trainee of Fortune Park Hotels Ltd. And grew up till Front Office Manager. Did a Masters in Facilities Mgt and Hotel Architecture from Saxion University Netherlands, after which a six month’s internship at Schiphol Sheraton in Amsterdam.
1998 – 2006 Worked with Days Inn, Wyndham Hotels, Wimpy Intl (QSR), and Choice Hotels in Various Positions like Manager Operations, Executive Asst. MGR & Gm
2000 – First Opportunity with Days Inn Chain as General Manager
2006 – Onwards as General Manager with Fortune Park Hotels Ltd – ITC Hotel Group
Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
Updating the latest Trends
Continuous Education
Adapting Technology
Following World Wide Industry Trends
An active participant in all Sectors related activities of Hospitality
Enternpurship Approach
Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?
Positive Attitude
Smart Personality
Current trend Awareness
Enternpurship
Thirst to Succeed
Willingness to learn & Train
Empathy towards fellow Colleagues
Flair/Passion for invention & Fire to succeed
Ownership towards the Organisation
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?
Detailing of their Interest, Multiskilling, Practising the Profession, Identifying the gaps between education and profession, Finding solutions for the operational difficulties and updating the current trends, Imparting/Sharing knowledge with the fellow colleagues. Attending all In-house Training, Acquiring Leadership skills from the seniors
Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?
Business Economy, Govt participation, Unpreceded political atmosphere, Excessive growth only in Metro Cities, Outdated Education curriculum of Hospitality, Availability of Trained Manpower, Impractical business investments into the industry, International Mgt practices and products lead in increased costs and lesser returns for the investors
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?
Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Virtual Reality, Augmented reality & IoT
Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.
Employee Emoluments & Tailor-Made Hospitality Operations & Administration Geographically
Editor: What can we expect in the coming year?
Opportunities in Verticals as furnished below and it will also expand digitally.
Hotels, Retail, Entertainment, Technology, Architecture, Facility Planning, Hospitals Banks & Financial, Revenue Mgt, Channel Mgt, GDS, Pricing Mgt, Social Media Mgt, Digital Aggregation, Entrepreneurship, Facilities Mgt, Co-Working/Living, Consulting, Marriage Planner, Digital Retail, CRM/ MIS/ Competitive Intelligence, Student Living – Hostels, Food Safety/ Research, Cloud Kitchen, Food Stylist/ Drink & Food Photography, Curated travel, Wardrobe/ Lifestyle Mgt & Bloggers
