Exclusive Interview | Pratibha Shrestha, Ex-HR Manager of Constance Moofushi, Maldives

“I would like to change the exploitation of line-level staffs which still persists in most of the organization despite Labor laws. Working in the hospitality industry means long hours and less personal life. It can be seen in most places that they are not rightly compensated- monetary wise or any other way.”

— Pratibha Shrestha

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

My hospitality journey started with an opportunity which I felt was worth exploring. I come from a non-hospitality background (Master in Economics) and was occupied with two jobs in Nepal when I got the opportunity to join Six Senses in 2008 as a training intern for 3 months with a possibility to get a permanent contract. There was a risk to leave 2 permanent jobs to get one probable permanent job abroad in a different field than I was in. I took the risk and grabbed the opportunity. I never had to look back after that and climbed the ladder up to Human Resources Manager from being a training intern.

My journey to Human Resources Manager has seen me taking different positions like Training Coordinator, Administrative Executive, Manager in Training- HR, Assistant HR Manager and finally HR Manager.

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

Hospitality is about human emotions and that is the most important factor. While giving your full effort on whatever you do, be genuine, be passionate and constantly innovate then nobody can stop you. You will outshine others with these characters and definitely leave a mark with success kissing your feet.

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

Attitude, passion and self-presentation are the attributes I look for during the recruitment process.

If someone wants to work with me, they have to give 100% (or more sometimes) effort on whatever they do. Be passionate, innovative and empathetic to staff needs.

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

In this current scenario of COVID -19, health and safety is the prime factor impacting the hospitality industry.

Besides this, I can see an increasing interest of people in wellness and sustainability is impacting the hospitality industry. People are becoming more aware now and want to be a responsible guest leaving as low impact as possible to the environment whilst travelling. More and more people are getting inclined to overall wellness during holidays too. Gone are the days when you say cheating on holidays and just eat unhealthily and enjoy as if no tomorrow. Guests are more self-conscious. As I worked in the Maldives I am answering this through my experience there. Wellness activities like yoga, gym with instructor, healthy options in the menu other wellness activities on the weekly calendar is the must for the guests now. Hotels should change their strategies to meet this demand to sustain in the 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?

Everyone loves recognition and the software that helps the hotels recognize the guests, their preferences and their special events is the most important one at this time. Opera is mostly used for this purpose in the hospitality sector. Besides this, online platforms like review pro which collates guests feedback from all the online sources, ‘at your wish’ software which helps to record guests maintenance issues, arrival and departure time etc, micros software for food and beverage orders and storage in stores

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

Hiring Process- in most of the places, staff are hired depending upon their qualification and experience and the other attributes like attitude, passion gets on the side. This restricts the bright inexperienced people to enter the industry. All HRs should be liberal on this and should not hesitate to take risks if you find the right talent

The exploitation of line-level staff - Working in the hospitality industry means long hours and less personal life. Undoubtedly line staffs are the ones who handle the floor until the last guests leave and work tirelessly for long hours. It can be seen in most places that they are not rightly compensated- monetary wise or Any other way. Labour laws are there but very few are following and compensating their staffs accordingly. Proper compensation for these frontline heroes should be practised everywhere.

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Exclusive Interview | Md.Javed Khan, Hotel Operations Manager, Avani Seychelles by Minor International

“I am a hotelier by chance, but now when I look back, I can strongly confirm that I could not have been anything else. The buzz of a hotel makes me jump out of bed every day.”

— Md. Javed Khan

Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
I had no idea of hotels until I was in my 12th standard. I did not even know that there are colleges which teach you how to manage hotels? Nobody in my lineage has ever worked in hotels. I had only seen five-star hotels in movies and in Lucknow and Delhi from outside and heard stories like a tea costing INR 500 in Taj Mumbai from my uncle coming back from abroad while growing up and it gave me goosebumps thinking about it.

I am a hotelier by chance. I was fascinated with the Indian Air Force and was preparing for it in Lucknow. There while visiting a sick friend, I came across the brochure of a hotel management course by Govt of India and I found it quite interesting and applied for it as well. Unfortunately could not make it to airforce due to my eyesight but got selected for hotel management for Ihm Lucknow.

This is where my journey started, IHM Lucknow is one of the finest hotel management colleges in the country and faculties are simply out of the world. Everyone teaches you to be successful and they really take the pain to teach students who thought hotel management was no brainer. I feel I was very blessed to get into IHM Lucknow. Here I was highly motivated and my life was touched by my one faculty whom I am eternally grateful is Mr.T.K. Bansal who always believed in students who were not from so posh backgrounds and always kept an eye to make sure we do not lose focus. Now when I look back, I can strongly confirm that I can’t be anything than a hotelier.

The buzz of a hotel makes me jump out of bed every day for the last 16 years. Meeting new guests, making their life events into everlasting pleasant memories, listening to their stories, exceeding expectations, meeting team members of different cultures, managing emotions, planning and execution of months planned events is all so satisfactory that I am always excited to be on the floor.

I started my career with Leela group of hotels as I was picked by The Leela Group from Campus recruitment in 2004 as Hotel Operations Trainee in food and beverage service and then worked in Leela Mumbai and Goa for next five years in food and beverage as a supervisor, Restaurant manager and Banquets manager and thoroughly loved it. Leela hotels are exemplary and market leaders when it comes to the marriage of luxury and local Indian culture with the highest regards to finesse as owners themselves are so involved and keep a close eye on interiors and decoration of all hotels. I am very lucky to have got a chance to open eyes in the industry in one of the best hotels in the world, The Leela Goa. I was taken under the wings of our F&B training Manager Mr.Oliver Fernandes and our EAM food and beverage Mr.Daniels. These two have a huge impact in making me a better person and a professional. The best learning was from the philosophy of our late Founder Chairman Capt. C.P.Nair of Leela group of hotels which is “Atithi Devo Bhava” (2004-2009)

Later I moved to Seychelles to be part of pre-opening of Constance Ephelia as F&B Duty Manager and was instrumental in setting up the department. Once moved overseas I realise that If I wish to be a great General Manager someday, I must learn the accommodation management too hence came back to India with Lalit Bangalore as Asst. Front Office Manager and overlooked Food and Beverage too for a few months from (2009-2012)

At this time Leela Chennai was getting ready to open and I joined my previous employer as pre-opening AFOM and then was promoted as FOM and again five years in Chennai too. This was the first-ever beach facing business hotel as a palace and luxury at its best again. Big operations and here I get to make my own team as in pre-opening this is the best part that you start from scratch and impact of your conduct and management style can be everlasting.

I loved every bit of it and we were a superb team of front office which won mostly all rewards in the unit and corporate level on based of guest’s satisfaction, mystery audits and more than 75% team were promoted to next level and this was the most satisfactory as a leader. Leela Chennai, I was highly influenced and rather groomed to be successful General Manager someday by my pure-opening General manager Mr.Pacal Dupuis and Post opening General Manager Mr.Chengappa. (2012-2016)

After Leela Chennai, I moved to the Maldives for two years as Executive Assistant Manager for Atmosphere Hotels and Resort and managed two of the most luxuries and beautiful resorts which are OZEN and OBLU by Atmosphere. These are all-inclusive resorts and you get to host who and who of the world. Guests here become family as they mostly stay for two weeks and you get to know the different perspective of businessmen, sports personalities, Gurus, writers. It was a great experience to manage an International team by my own and I enjoyed till core and learnt so many traits from my colleagues and my COO Mr.Giri who is an absolute GEM and taught me so many things. (2016-2018)

After the Maldives, I moved to Seychelles again for my second term with Minor hotels which is a well-known company from Thailand as Hotel Operations Manager and still with them as Hotel Operations Manager. I was part of a team which was creating the vibes about Avani Seychelles in the local and international market after taking over from Le Meridian. The hotel runs on very high occupancy and in always 90+ which keeps the entire team always on our toes and makes our life challenging to maintain the rooms and public areas. So here comes the importance of gradual and well planned back of house management. I worked with two General Managers Mr.Vilar and Mr.Nico and learnt a lot from both of them. Especially the importance of sales and digital marketing and presence on social media. Minor has more than 536 hotels in all over the world and really looks after the talent well. I have not seen or heard a group so organised and planned and genuinely caring about the growth of its people. We will have a prime hotel management college soon in Thailand. (2018- till date)

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

The hotel industry is a very hardworking and round the clock so not meant for everybody and that’s the reason there are so many who quit in the first year of their placement/jobs in hotels after college and they go back to further studies to diversify into other industries. From my personal experience and point of view, the one thing which you must have to succeed is to be genuinely honest with your trade. Do it with all you have and have patience. Also, I believe one should be people’s person and you must lift others in the process and touch the lives of your guests and of your teams.

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

Integrity, Confidence and energy. Hotel trade is simple and can be taught and people can be trained easily. But one must be confident and energetic and should be pleasant. Naysayers and cynics find it difficult and bring down the energy of the entire team and that’s why all international brands have started a psychometric test to check before offering the job to check if one is a perfect or almost perfect blend with the vision of company psychologically as well.

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?

A- They get the real exposure to actual hotels which can’t be taught in theory or in practical labs. So it helps them to choose which trade they will go after their degree or diploma so they get another two years to prepare for it. It is like reading fantasy for one year and then actually living it.

B- Trainees are smart these days and can be trained far easily and they are hard-working and multitaskers and soon they become master of all trades in the hotel so they really help in busy periods and some of them even really fill in case of dire needs or medical emergencies. Their contribution is immense if trained wisely and kept motivated. Senior management must be involved and must oversee their development as they are our bench strength and our future.

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

I think there is a rat race of putting as much technology in practice in hotels as much one needs to learn to be an astronaut. It does not matter how much technology you can put in a hotel but the biggest effect will always be the personal touches and time spent in homework to know your guests before arrival or a repeat for his preferences to wow them. Technology or AI can’t substitute personal touches. People come to hotels for the overall experience and to feel important and for an ego boost and not into an ATM. Luxury is not making everything automatic but emotions and services added to the whole experience with proper homework.

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?

Yes, I have come across many new trends and gadgets and apps which has simplified marketing and made it reachable to each corner of the planet. A simple tagging on Instagram gives so much mileage for a hotel or Restaurant to market itself in seconds.

There is two software which I am very fond of one is Opera 6.0 and had made lives of the front of the house, Reservations and sales errors free and data collected and compared is unimaginable. The hotel can wow so many guests if they use it even 60% of it’s potential. You can even locate the guests in the hotel with the help of software on your laptop or desktop. The second one is Triton this helps us in managing guest’s requests and has made everybody accountable and has completely blown away the old fashion blame games when things went wrong. It has escalations in a timely manner so as a simple request of a towel to be sent to the room can be escalated to General Manager if not delivered in the time agreed. However, we must be careful of over usage especially in guests experience areas so it does not become emotionless or fully automated.

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

Intelligence over flamboyance- In the process I feel many hotel owners or CEOs or top executives hire the important roles to head their business or department on based of flamboyance and personal appearances but we must remember it is a business too and to run a business you need a high level of emotional and analytical intelligence too.

Work-life Balance- We all must plan well to ensure people are not exhausted and had enough time for family as well. It is possible with good planning and anyone who ever worked with me will vouch for it. That if we wish then we can have work-life balance implemented in busy hotels too.

Editor: What can we expect in the coming year?

After Covid-19 once life comes back to normal. House-keepers will be the most important. Cleanliness and hygiene will have to be 1000% more foolproof and guests will search positive comments of housekeeping and hygiene of a hotel on social media before booking it. Location, location and location will be hygiene, hygiene and hygiene for at least the next 12 months.

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Exclusive Interview | Chef Mohkam Singh, Executive Chef, Radisson Jaipur City Center

“What are your earliest memories of the kitchens you worked in?
Cook - Learn – Eat- Sleep – Repeat….. Cook - Learn – Eat- Sleep – Repeat!!!”

— Chef Mohkam Singh

How did it all start? Share your culinary journey with us

Experienced Executive Chef with a demonstrated history of working experience In Trident, The Oberoi, Park Plaza, The Lalit, The Aman, One& Only Royal Mirage (Dubai), DLF Gurgaon and many more well-known hotels, over 14+ years. Skilled In Hospitality Management, revenue analysis, culinary arts skills and strong business development professional from Craft Course from Food Craft Institute (F.C.I.) Udaipur (Rajasthan)

What are your earliest memories of the kitchens you worked in

Cook - Learn – Eat- Sleep – Repeat….. Cook - Learn – Eat- Sleep – Repeat!!!

A dish your patrons/guest love

Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie

A dish that you love but do not have on your menu

Chakki ki Sabzi (Rajasthani cuisine)

What according to you does it take to become a successful chef?

To become a successful chef you have enough patience, a good knowledge of food, creative and always keen to make guests happy!!!

What advice would you give to a young culinary student?

Emphasis on Basics, Don’t rush to make that advanced food which you don’t know any basics, Zeal to learn every tie, Practice your knife skills, keen to learn.

What instruments/ equipment/devices you cannot imagine working without?

Knife

Your favorite ingredient is…

Salt (Backbone of food)

Name chefs, you find amazing or chefs work you admire

Chef Dharmen Makwana

What books should every chef read?

• Theory of Cookery (Must read by every chef to make clear his | her basics)

• The flavor Bible

• The Making Of Chef..

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Exclusive Interview | Ratul Gupta, Deputy General Manager - Resort, The Source at Sula, Beyond by Sula

“Flipping through my Grandfather’s share books of EIH, IHCL & ITC during my school days, I was fortunate to get an early glimpse of the Hospitality world. While then I hardly understood the financial statistics, I developed a vision to pursue Hotel Management”

— Ratul Gupta

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

Flipping through my Grandfather’s share books of EIH, IHCL & ITC during my school days, I was fortunate to get an early glimpse of the Hospitality world. While then I hardly understood the financial statistics, I developed a vision to pursue “Hotel Management” (my colleagues were all out to crack the Joint Entrance for Engineering & Medicals!)

Passing out from the Institute of Hotel Management Chennai in 2002, I was actively seeking a job in Food and Beverage Service. The twist came when I stepped into The Oberoi Rajvilas for an interview! I got selected but in Housekeeping as an Associate. I immediately grabbed the offer which I couldn’t refuse primarily because I was deeply touched by the warm, friendly & multi-talented environment. From there, I moved on & was fortunate to work with some of the finest hotel chains of ITC, IHCL, Marriott International & Accor where I took charge as an Executive Housekeeper.

However, my big turn came when I got selected by India’s leading & one of the world’s most Sustainable Winery- Sula Vineyards Nashik for the position of Deputy General Manager Resorts in 2017. This has truly been a God’s blessing in disguise primarily because it gave a new dimension to my learning curve and making way for an exciting career path in Wine Tourism.

And then there was no looking back…….

I now happily recall the lines from “The Road Not Taken” –

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made a difference.”

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

While discipline, hard work & passion for perfection are the key focal points, my mantra to success is Consistency with KISS – doing the same thing with perfection again and again & Keeping It Sweet & Simple (KISS). And finally, a little garnish of Creativity will always generate a sensation of X-Factor leading to great success stories.

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

Wear the Right Attitude with a Genuine Smile!

I would love to work with someone who is willing to help, learn and grow with the organization, display sparks of enthusiasm, demonstrate positive body language with a firm belief that Together Everyone Achieves More.

What according to you can trainees do while they are training at hotels to make it a win-win for them & the hotel?

Focus on Basics!

Trainees should use this Learning platform to the fullest to understand their area of interest & the way forward. While they contribute in multiple little ways towards various hotel operations, Trainees need to be groomed with the right Quality Training & inculcated with the passion for Spirit to Serve.

Looking through the larger window of Sustainability, a WIN-WIN situation between Hotels & Trainees will help to create a Talent Pool for the hotel industry to absorb these talented professionals who are the promising Leaders of Next Generation.

What are some trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

Touchless Hospitality, Digital Marketing & Flexible Dynamic pricing will be some of the new trendsetters. Hygiene & Safety protocols will be the most sought-after post-COVID-19. Keeping the hotel Clinically Clean will be the Real Key to Success.

There is a possibility of fewer Guest request on Extra Item request to be delivered to the room as Guest may prefer to carry their own items.

Also, Turndown Service can be done away with.

Another significant focus under Sustainability will be – use of Local resources. Promotion of locally grown fruits and vegetables, Local dish displaying as Chefs Choice in Restaurant, responsible Local purchasing etc to name a few. Thus, health food will gain more importance.

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

Very true. While the pre-COVID-19 world witnessed multiple user-friendly technologies like Online Academie, PMS, Guest Review Management Tool, Complaint Management System etc, the new era post-COVID-19 will see the evolution of Innovative Disinfection Technologies, QR codes, digital payments, e-Registration, contactless Check-in, palmtops usage, User-friendly mobile Apps which will create a Guest experience in the upcoming tech-savvy world.

However, on a personal note, the key to create Guest Delight would still lie in offering Personalized Service. The personal attention and CARE (Courtesy, Appreciation, Respect, Empathy) with an underlying emotional touch will continue to create a unique Guest experience!

Two things you would like to change in the industry.

I look forward to re-emphasizing on:

Rewards & Recognition – A Step up for increased recognition of Hospitality Servers is the need of the hour. The tireless efforts, unmatched dedication & going the extra mile truly displays our Service Excellence which often goes unnoticed and unsung.

Training & Development – While the world is moving to Online Learning, I personally encourage The Old School of Learning. Emphasis on hands-on demonstration, on the job training, evaluation of Training, One on One sessions, Feedback sessions, Open Forum etc creates the essential foundation of Learning & unleashes the true potential of an individual.

Continual demonstration pepped with dollops of humour is the real pathway of Success!

What can we expect in the coming year?

Extensive use of Technology wherein Guest need not touch many surfaces would become commonplace. The area previously termed as “nice to have” will become a necessity. Ethical hygiene is going to be a new trend. Wellness is likely to become the core of all functions.

Domestic Tourism and Rural Tourism will evolve. Rural locations which are a short drive from a large city shall benefit first.

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