Exclusive Interview | Sunaina Chinta, Front office Manager, Hilton Goa

“There is no shortcut to success in the hospitality industry— but with the right training and qualifications, you can surely thrive in this industry.”

— Sunaina Chinta

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

Hospitality was never in the plan, this was back during the recession where there were very limited job openings in the hospitality sector. I tried my hands on to apply for one of the renowned hotels and was able to crack the interview. It all started with this and this industry has always recognized me for all the hard work and for the guest experience. 

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

There is no shortcut to success in the hospitality industry— but with the right training and qualifications, you can surely thrive in this industry. A successful hospitality professional is goal-oriented, driven, hard-working, and eager to learn. Both hands-on practice and classroom learning is needed to pave the way for a successful hospitality career

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

There are 5 Attributes that I look forward to in people when hiring them. Ambitious, Passion towards their Goal, Honesty towards work and peers, Emotional Intelligence, Detail oriented. 

Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

•  Social Media influencers – This causes real-time damage as most of the guests to play this card when they look for discounts or complimentary nights.

• Tech-Savvy – The majority of the travelers are pro-tech-savvy and it sometimes becomes difficult to match up to the guest satisfaction. In this process, hotels & resorts miss personal touches for the guests. Also, this attracts reduced manpower which means more of attrition rate.

• Unique Perks- Since there are so many brands to choose from it becomes super important to stand out in the market 

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?

•  Staycations- Creating some exciting offers and marketing on the right platform.

• Contactless Experience –  starting from making the reservation till the guest checks out, have those minimal contact with the staff. Eg, web check-in, QR code for ordering food, digital room key, web check out, etc.

•   Sustainability- People are becoming increasingly sensitive to environmental and social issues. 

Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.

 Changing Guest behavior and expectations -Guests realize the power they have via social media and online reviews - and will use it when not satisfied with a service. Travelers need to understand that not everything can go right, and believe in the efforts of the staff in making it right.

Young Market – I would like people to change their perspective towards the millennium. As I see future leaders in them. A change of approach towards them will enhance their mindfulness and be more creative.   

Exclusive Interview | Shihalini Rajaratnam, Manager, Front Office, Amari Havodda Maldives

“Millennials love experiencing the real culture of a place they choose to visit. They love to share experiences and connect with the locals.”

— Shihalini Rajaratnam

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

Joining the hotel industry was not a choice. I was into corporate marketing in a software company while in India and returned to Sri Lanka which is my home country. I spent six months looking for a similar role but considering the niche market for the software industry in Sri Lanka, the roles I got were mostly into banking and not heart whelming. My brother who was already in the hotel industry at the time encouraged me to join the hotel industry in Dubai.

My first interview was for the second batch of Atlantis – The Palm, Dubai as Guest Relations however I was not selected. Instead, Aitken Spence Maldives offered me a role as Guest Relations Executive and it was a good offer at the time. In January 2010, I arrived in the Maldives with an imagination of Paradise and having the least idea of what was expected of me except for the tremendous customer service experience I carried.

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

Passion, working with your heart and hunger for achievement. I was all new to the industry and hardly received any training off the job. It was continuously figuring out your role on the job and how I could apply my experience to apply new techniques and make it a better place. I succeeded initially by being able to “sell” and applying my marketing experience to promote sales and prepare documents. Working long hours was a must as I joined an extremely busy resort and we worked almost 16 hours a day. Building connections help a lot as you grow, the reviews just roll in when the true art of service is rendered.

At present, it is all about rendering love, care and compassion to your team, colleagues and guests. Hospitality can never be a job, it is indeed a passion.

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

I use emotional intelligence. Initially, it’s the passion to work in the industry. I spend at least 45 minutes on a video call as we mostly hire remote especially for expats. A natural smile is important. Within the first seven seconds, you will start feeling the solid impression of the candidate however there is always a procedure to follow.

We have a standard interview technique designed to assess the competency of a candidate and questions are structured to obtain attitude based real-life scenarios. This has created efficiency in recruitment.

I always believe that the tasks could be taught but never the attitude.

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?

Learn everything they can within the short stint. Knowledge is the key. Build connections. Focus on all aspects of the department they are selected for and I strongly advise on cross-training as well. If you work for the front office, you must have an understanding of how other departments operate.

I have had efficient interns who were able to grab the role available.

Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

It was all leading to personalized interactions along with speedy technology. Quick Check-In and Check-out, WhatsApp conversations with guest service hosts instead of grabbing the telephone in the room. Millennials love experiencing the real culture of a place they choose to visit. They love to share experiences and connect with the locals. Social media plays a wide role here. Covid-19 will make use of technology to a very high extent with personalized care and social distancing in mind.

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?

As mentioned in my answer above, Personalized host experiences through WhatsApp played a wide role in the past few months. Hosts were able to continuously support guests on their queries on and off duty times. It also helped us keep in touch with our guests post departure helping in generating more reviews.

This is also a great chance to keep in touch with our guests as prospective repeaters. All other Social Media channels such as Instagram, Facebook, and OTAs drive business to a large extent.

Review Pro is another great tool helping us to analyze our guest experience. Where we stand in the market against our competitors, what we do best and what we lack. Information is the key to continuous improvement.

Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.

Use more emotional intelligence to approach your teams and guests to fit into the new era of hospitality. Teach them the core concept of “Hospitality with the heart”.

Increase in the level of empowerment in team members who are identified as potential performers

Editor: What can we expect in the coming year?

A focus on quality instead of quantity. Guests will be ready to pay higher rates with all airline fares rising tremendously. The challenge is to ensure that we are geared to cater to this market. We in turn will have to educate our teams to continuously promise and deliver an exceptional guest experience. The pandemic has raised caution and we can see brands already working on operational hygiene and safety standards for continuous protection and assurance. Employees will need support with continuous training, and assurance in order to ensure a safe environment. In return, we ought to be ready to deliver exceptional care for those guests willing to travel and spend amidst this pandemic. The demand will remain for those with high safety and service standards in comparison to the luxury of a product.

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Exclusive Interview | Sandeep Sinha, Ex-Director of Rooms, JW Marriott Resort and Spa, Jaipur

“I was fascinated during my school days by an elder cousin who was working in hotels. His stories and experience amazed me.”

— Sandeep Sinha

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

I was fascinated during my school days by an elder cousin who was working in hotels. His stories and experience amazed me. I took admission in IHM Kolkata (then Calcutta) post my school and my first assignment were at The Oberoi Udaivilas as a pre-opening team member in Housekeeping.

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

Three attributes are key to succeed in the industry:

1. Honesty - Be brutally honest with your work, your colleagues, your supervisors and yourself. Honest approach will ensure you have a free and flexible mind to learn, develop and grow.

2. Attitude - A positive attitude will take one places and help being recognised. Hotels and hospitality, though glamorous and highly rewarding, can also be taxing at times. Being positive and a great attitude is best friend one can have.

3. An eye for detail - I was taught once by one my bosses, "Devil is in the detail". Somehow, this phrase stuck with me over years. Look for minute details, understand small preferences, looking to enhance things, these are some of the key attributes which differentiate between an average and great hospitality experience.

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

I look for attitude and passion. If someone has a great attitude and absolutely passionate about what they do, that's a victory for me.

Anybody who wants to work with me needs to have a great attitude, passion and transparent approach towards work and the team.

What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

In these times, there has been loads of speculation and views on the New Normal. One thing which I foresee happening in the coming months is an enhanced and increased Pre Arrival Connect. Hotels would like to pre-capture details of guest like arrival information, IDs, room preferences, credit card details etc. This will ensure contact of guest and hotel team is minimal during Check-in. Similarly, with pre-captured information, room cleaning time, food delivery, meal preference can be customised and kept ready for guest with minimal physical contact.

Tech is now an enabler for great hospitality. Can you share with us some of the techs that go into creating your guest experience?

Hotels have adopted loads of technological support over years to enhance the guest's experience. Few tools which are very helpful are -

1. PMS - Great PMS with the option of storing guest details, historical data and option of interface with other software (back end finance's software, reservation tool etc) available saves time and assist a great deal in interacting with guest and enhancing the stay experience.

2. Smart tablets, which are interfaced with PMS and the loyalty website. Great way to record guest's likes/dislikes, know about a guest, instant information on fingertips while talking to a guest. Some hotels have also successfully used them in their cars, which guest can use to communicate with the hotel before their arrival and pre-order food, leave instructions etc.

3. One thing which is currently evolving and yielding great results is one integrated window, which has PMS, loyalty tool, preferences, an option to check-in and check out a guest, convey guest's requests to concerned departments, financial information. Every hotel chain has assigned a different name and look to this window/software. This is an amazing tool and ensures associates have only one software to log into and operate from.

Two things you would like to change in the industry.

I have seen the industry-changing and evolving in the last two decades. I would like to change the following

1. How we communicate with our young hoteliers. Two decades ago, aspirations and the way of looking at things were very different. Today's generation wants clarity, clear instructions and uncomplicated approach. They not only want to know what will it take to achieve the next step but also how long will it take them to be there. It is important that we are clear, transparent and honest in our communication with them.

2. We may think that hotels are driven and evolving through technology, but one of the key things that are driving hotels are their guest. It is important that we engage these guest on different platforms and listen to the. However, this evolving and emerging perception that engagement of guest is more important than customer service and great hotel experience is alarming. I would like this perception to be changed. There is absolutely nothing which can substitute a great customer experience.