Exclusive Interview | Soumitra Pahari, General Manager, Mercure Hyderabad KCP
/“A hotelier should have a combination of skills, attitude, and entrepreneurial approach. Emotional intelligence plays a big role and all of these are stepping stones towards success.”
Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
I was always in love with travel and meeting people. My passion for meeting new people understand them has pushed me towards hospitality. Till today, I make it a point to meet my guests/colleagues at the Hotel, talk to them, help them whenever possible, it is great satisfaction and motivation for me to keep moving without looking at my watch.
Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
A hotelier should have a combination of skills, attitude, and entrepreneurial approach. Emotional intelligence plays a big role and all of these are stepping stones towards success.
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, adaptability of the person, learning aptitude, hunger to achieve newer heights. We hire people as future leaders, do they have the potential to grow with us. We believe in groom people for the next level, we emphasize more on developing the team members for that we have different fast track programs, where people learn leadership and operational skills.
Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?
The evolution and growing awareness of a traveller have educated them to make an informed decision of the hotel that they would want to book for their personal and professional visit. This has helped the industry to work in a more scientific fashion o their various segments of business and create different strategies for each and every segment which in turn proves beneficial for both the hotel and the guest to maximize the ROI. Also with the lines blurring between work and play many city hotels are now working on introducing engaging leisure activities so that guests can unwind at the hotel in place of stepping out of the hotel in search of entertainment or relaxation.
Another catching and engaging trend are that of a guest being aware of the specific teas/coffee brews that they will like to explore or consume when at the hotel, thus making the tea/coffee catch up into an experiential session. This was given FnB a new avenue to engage with guests.
Social media that had been the most important trend rising since lockdown will continue. It plays a big role in marketing and promoting a business and has a big influence on online consumers. Social media has become a large platform to promote food & beverage and has had a positive effect on the hospitality industry.
Editor: Tech is now an enabler for great hospitality. Can you share with us some of the techs that go into creating your guest experience?
With data management being the epicentre of technological advancement today we have been able to create memorable experiences for our guests while they stay with us from the data of their previous stays at any Accor hotels.
Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.
Curriculum and industry are a mismatch, students are still trained in Fidelio while the industry today uses Opera. They are not taught about digitalization, but instead how silver service is done. It’s an urge to the institutes to provide aspiring hospitality professionals with real-time requirements of the hospitality industry like – use of technology for various operations, time management, hands-on skills, etc.
Talent Drain- The percentage of students v/s the student joining the industry is uneven, the same can be corrected and the educational institutes work.
What can we expect in the coming year?
The coming year is going to be interesting to watch, it’s going to be a trend setter’s years. We could see a lot of innovation in the industry. Personalization will have greater importance. This will be a year of re-build and the year to unlearn and learn new things.
