Exclusive Interview | Veenu Rastogi, Area Director Sales & Marketing, North India and Director of Sales & Marketing, Crowne Plaza New Delhi Mayur Vihar Noida
/“In an increasingly competitive environment, the way hotels react to guests’ expectations has a dramatic impact on their profitability”
Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
Being in the Sales & Marketing field, I was eager to start off my career promoting a hotel. The deciding factor mostly had to do with my interest in the trade itself and to avoid a mundane job that I would dread waking up to every day. After some persistence, I managed to land a position in the Sales & Marketing department at Le Meridien New Delhi in 2001 and I was thrilled!
As a Sales & Marketing practitioner, I wasn’t dealing directly with guests the majority of the time. However, from time to time, I did face some of the dozens of guest interactions that took place on a daily basis. There are ample networking opportunities, as I got to meet with people from all walks of life.
There are vast avenues to explore within the hospitality world. This meant that I could get as creative as I wanted in tackling unique challenges. I could tell the chef exactly what personalized pastry I envisioned to place in the rooms for the guest, which influencers to collaborate within creative ways to tell the story of the hotel experience, which top travel and hospitality publications to write for, and much more. And of course, being spoiled with the perks of traveling and experiencing the brand’s distinct properties in other countries, which have their own signature culturally-connected characters and it was interesting to observe the variety and differences in their type of services.
The journey is still on with IHG and the latest is that I qualified for the RISE program (only 5 ladies in South West Asia). RISE is a 12-month GLOBAL MENTORING PROGRAM for aspiring FEMALE GENERAL MANAGERS. This was a proud moment for me and I have successfully completed the same in 2021 and I keep looking forward to every new moment of this journey.
Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
Be Meticulous
In order to reach the highest customer satisfaction, you need to ensure your services are ‘premium’ and personal. With this comes attention to detail. The top priority of hospitality professionals is to ensure that every guest has the best experience possible. This requires you to be hyper-vigilant about every detail from the top to the bottom, ranging from the fresh flowers at the lobby, the carefully folded napkins on the dining table, the soothingly scented and thoroughly cleaned rooms, to the efficient check-in and check-out process at the front desk
Effective Problem Solving Skills
Working in the hospitality industry, you face all kinds of situations every day. Thinking quickly, making decisive decisions, and responding sensitively to customers’ and employees’ questions and concerns are a hospitality professional’s most important job duties. An empathetic heart and genuine effort to fix things go a long way when problems occur. You need to keep calm and handle everything in a timely fashion.
Mindfulness
In the hospitality industry, the manner in which you respond to an emergency is the key to your success. If you are able to remain calm and respond swiftly, keeping your guests safe and happy, you will be able to uphold both your company’s and your own reputation. Make sure that you’ve obtained the necessary risk management skills, and that the emergency procedures are in place while all staff and guests are aware.
Acquiring New knowledge
If you aim to develop a successful career in the fast-paced hospitality industry, you need to always be on your toes to keep up with every new trend and every new standard. You are expected to handle surprises smoothly, identify customers’ needs swiftly, and solve problems effectively. This requires you to have an innovative attitude and the desire to learn new things.
Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring?
Good Communicator
Being able to communicate effectively with colleagues, clients or partners is a characteristic of top employees. Good communicators not only get their points across well but also are careful to listen and follow directions. Candidates with open and engaging communication styles, who ask questions and welcome feedback are most sought after.
Perseverance
Perseverance is an essential element when you need to achieve a high level of success. It is a great tool to use, and it doesn’t require any college education or training. It comes naturally and requires a strong will
Goal-Oriented
A strong employee is someone who sees the new position as a challenge. I would look for an individual who sees the new job as a fulfilment of a goal rather than just as the means to a paycheque or as another listing on a resume.
Creativity
Being able to think creatively is indeed a highly-valued soft skill in today's job market. I would look for versatile team members who can apply their skills to a variety of different situations and can solve unexpected problems that come up with ease and confidence. :
Loyalty
I would look for two key attributes - Honesty and loyalty. Prove yourself trustworthy and committed to the success of the organisation and you will be invaluable
Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?
In an increasingly competitive environment, the way hotels react to guests' expectations has a dramatic impact on their profitability. Guests are continually voting with their wallets through their purchases. Immediate accessibility, mobile obsession, personalised experiences, and contradictory preferences—are just some of the challenges that hoteliers are tackling daily. Today's guests are less interested in the quick sell and more concerned with building a long-term relationship. If they're an existing guest, they want to be treated from the standpoint of knowledge about the past business. Guests also realize the power they have via social media and online reviews - and will use it when not satisfied with a service. While defining various personas and generation-based profiles have their place, it is important to keep in mind that millennial guest on vacation with their family has different expectations than that same millennial on a business trip. Hotels need to meet the guests where they are and satisfy their sophisticated needs. The key consideration here is that guests and types of stays are not all the same, so it is counterproductive to treat them that way.
Editor: How is Sales & Marketing adapting to the "new normal"?
It is impossible to know exactly what the future will look like for hotels, but what we do know is that it will be different from what we are used to, and we will have to adapt. These challenging months have shown us how the hospitality industry can come together in support during a crisis, and I believe that by continuing to work together and embracing the tools available, we will be able to define new processes and be better equipped to face the challenges that may lie ahead.
Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.
Firstly, Hotels must have a personality that connects to both existing and prospective guests. It’s a vital ingredient for travelers who are looking for a unique travel experience. Obviously, this personality must be conveyed via staff and the property itself. Every hotel room and human interaction should reflect what the brand represents.
Secondly, society is becoming more environmentally conscious as it becomes clear sustainability is an important issue. These changing attitudes are filtering into the way travelers choose their hotels. Sustainable hotels look at eco-friendly construction, energy saving, waste management as priorities.
Editor: What can we expect from the hotel in the coming year?
As the economy shows signs of improvement, nearly all sectors have picked up the pace of late. Even the worst-hit sectors like aviation, which literally came to a standstill for two months, have bounced back, and the airlines are now registering capacity utilization of nearly 60 percent on the domestic segment. In pre-Covid times, the growth in the travel sector (air, rail, or road) was directly associated with the growth in hospitality. As people were traveling more for work or leisure, they would stay in hotels which kept the hotel occupancy rates in the vicinity of the number of seats sold by the airlines or the railways. With COVID-19, this equation has changed completely. Though the industry has been witnessing an uptick in demand, recovery has been slow and arduous. The industry has seen pent-up leisure demand in recent times and outbound tourism has shifted to domestic tourism, apart from rising trends of staycations.
Additionally, we have also witnessed an increase in weddings and wedding-related events being conducted in the hotel. The credibility of the brand, the universal cleanliness and sanitation protocols followed by us, and the non-closure of the property all through; helped us stand tall despite these trying times.
