Exclusive Interview | Ujwala Sonawane, Principal, Magarpatta College of Hospitality
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Share your career journey with us.
My professional journey has been a combination of Industry and Academia. Starting off as a professional in the Food and Beverage Service department from campus placement, growing up to Banquet Manager. I took to academics to maintain a balance in my personal and professional life almost for a decade.
“Passion and commitment is the only key, Self motivation and setting up goals of self, and to constantly work towards your goals is the mantra.”
Then moved back to the Industry as Manager Training and Development, then joined Apeejay Institute of Hospitality as a member of the pre opening team at the Hotel School, this experience has been different as it’s tagline goes Leadership Through Differentiation. Further worked in the Industry to challenge myself and self check if I would be able to sustain an Industry Job and I did it very well in the capacity of Manager Training pan India at a Chain of Hotels, further a challenging opportunity came up at ITM Institutions.
I have enjoyed the journey by redoing syllabus, setting systems and processes, to make the work environment system driven rather than person driven. As Dean at ITM IHM worked with Indian as well as International universities. At present working with Magarpatta College of Hospitality as Principal as I decided to shift to Pune for personal reasons.
What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
Passion and commitment is the only key, Self motivation and setting up goals of self, and to constantly work towards your goals is the mantra.
What according to you can trainees do while they are training at hotels to make it a win-win for them & the hotel/unit?
Observe and learn – Experiential learning, In the hospitality industry we are constantly interacting with Humans, thus every interaction can be different and can provide a different learning experience. Real world skills are required to complete the theoretical studies that students learn at a college. Problem solving skills, Management skills can only be learnt on the job. I urge students to take notes while on the job training, reflect, analyze and achieve from them.
What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?
Technology is been the driving force in most work spaces and so is for hotels, students today should be technology ready, keep up t the latest technology trends, A high level of efficiency in using and understanding technology is required.
Sustainable practices – Being aware of sustainable practices and following them on day to day basis, like reduce use of plastic, Limit water wastage , Use of eco friendly cleaning supplies, switch to energy efficient lighting, Roof top or vertical garden e.t.c
Robot staff – This trend is catching up in hotels, while staff and guest both have to be educated in the use of this technology, Robots can be useful in doing regular mundane jobs in the housekeeping, service and production departments
Unique brand experience – One must try to create an unique experience for guest in every interaction.
Two things you would like to change in the industry.
Students today are not eager to take up hospitality education or work as their career choice, majorly due to the working hours at hotels and poor renumeration. While some international brands are trying to change the work conditions and helping employees to strike a good balance between professional and personal life.
What do you expect the industry to do to support academics?
Encourage faculty to train in the hotels for 15 -20 days per year to update themselves to the standards of the industry. Provide experiential learning to students, Make them feel part of the industry as they are the future workforce.
There is a trend of HM students going abroad for Internships and Jobs. Have you seen this too? Why do you think this is? How can colleges safeguard the students' interests?
Yes most students prefer to train or intern abroad as they get international experience, earn a better stipend than hotels in India offer, accommodation and food is provided. Students come back with a certification of international hotel, At the same time if Domestic hotels offer the same facilities’ students will definitely want to stay back and train in India. More important at the moment if students take the option of training out of state hotels, they need to organize for their own accommodation, and stipend is not enough to cover their food and accommodation expenses.
The Indian hospitality industry salaries are not considered lucrative by today's graduates. What is your opinion on this? What should the minimum salary for an HM graduate be?
This is true for some hotel chains while there are some organizations paying a good salary if the student joins their Management training program. Salary structures of entry level staff up to supervisory level needs a correction, to attract good talent. A Hotel management degree prepares students to excel in different skills and learn Management strategies, they for sure need to earn salaries like any other Management graduate.
