AI & Tech In Hospitality - A Special Feature With Mr. Atul Upadhyay- Senior Vice President, Pride Hotels Group

Mr. Atul Upadhyay- Senior Vice President, Pride Hotels Group

AI for guest/customer experience: How are you using AI to create a more personalized and efficient guest experience? Are you using AI to provide guests with tailored recommendations, or to manage room temperature, lighting, and other amenities?

We are using AI to create a more personalized and efficient guest experience by utilizing machine learning algorithms to analyze guest behavior and preferences. This allows us to customize the guest experience with tailored recommendations, personalized offers, and promotions, as well as automated processes such as room temperature, lighting, and amenities management. We also use AI to offer guests faster and more accurate information and services, such as personalized attendant services.

AI for employee experience, HR & Training: Are you using AI to improve HR and training processes for employees? How are you using AI to identify training needs, streamline scheduling, or automate performance evaluations?

At our company, we are using AI to identify training needs and automate performance evaluations. We are leveraging AI to analyze employee data and extract key insights. This enables us to identify which skills and competencies each employee needs to develop, and how best to do so. Additionally, AI can be used to automate scheduling, by taking into account employee availability, skills, and preferences. AI can also be used to automate performance evaluations, by analyzing employee performance data and providing insights into strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

AI for process management: How are you using AI to manage inventory, housekeeping, maintenance, or other operational processes at your hotel? Are you using AI to monitor and optimize energy consumption, or to reduce waste?

We are using AI to manage inventory, housekeeping, maintenance, and other operational processes at our hotel. AI-powered analytics are used to monitor and optimize inventory levels across multiple locations and to generate timely reports to inform decision-making. AI is also used to monitor and optimize energy consumption, as well as to automate common tasks and reduce waste. AI-powered chatbots are used to improve customer service, while AI-enabled software is used to automate housekeeping processes such as room cleaning and maintenance.

---

Interview Questions I Like To Ask - Chef Kedar Bobde, Executive Chef, Hyatt Regency Mumbai

Here are my few of my favourites..

Freshers or young entrants beginning to rise in brigade

1. Post generic questions I ask for interest of the candidate and usually check his preparedness on different ones ex. If western then about Indian and so on

2. Ideally That tell me about how well he/she has studied the subject and if candidate is willing to learn or has very specific/rigid approach

3. On western front one can definitely expect mother sauces and derivatives – since that’s the base of everything any creativity or playing with food can happen only if you have strong base knowledge

4. Definitely why is that one want’s to join kitchen and if long hours will deter their choice in near future – One has to have passion for whatever they are doing so to give in heart and soul for this is must. As culinary is not about excel and reports but creating unique experiences for patrons

5. Which books or sites candidate refers but usually I like to throw in this in the middle of conversation so as to understand how they keep up with knowledge and trend. 

Seasoned players – Sous chef and above

1. Post generic pleasantries why should I select you – For me to understand for candidate to elaborate on past achievement and to extract little more deeper how same was achieved (Role of team, other department or another factor), ideally to gauge style of working, team spirit, understanding of situation and use to your best.

2. If candidate has ever faced a situation where he was required to give golden handshake to employee – Again this is about temperament, situation handling and style of leadership.

3. Many times we have tough nut in a brigade how do you handle

4. Ways and means of cost management – This gives me his/her experience in doing so to handle outlet with outlook/knowledge towards astute cost management

5. Name the last five restaurants that a person has visited or read about – To comprehend the preservation of knowledge and to grasp of the trend

6. Describe your process for ensuring your ingredients stay fresh and retain their quality before being cooked. – very important to understand and maintain quality of ingredients

7. Three skills that you look for when you are a part of hiring process – This tells me what are the most important criteria for him as a chef

8. Quite often we get a customer who is not happy about food but we as a chef know there is nothing wrong how do you handle this situation – Another most important aspect of Chef’s life to handle tough customer and ensure they go back happy here agility is very important

---

Interview Questions I Like To Ask - Vishal Singh, General Manager, Hyatt Regency, Gurgaon

 §   Give me a brief about your experience so far and also about the initiatives you took to enhance your department and some key contribution in your working tenure?.

The purpose of asking this question is to gain an insight about his or her experience and how follow up questions can be framed.

   §   What are your strength and weaknesses ?.

Talking about their strength gives them a great opportunity to showcase what they can do and also for me to gauge if their strengths can be leveraged and aligned with the vision of the hotel. For example, if they say that creativity is their strength, they also should talk about a time when they used their creativity to solve a problem or address a challenge. Weakness: Not easy to answer ! The question is asked to gauge if first do they really know what is the area of improvement and another if their weakness will stop them from doing the job they have applied for or be a hindrance towards their optimum performance.

   §   What attracted / motivated you to be a part of our company?.

Answer to this question gives an insight in case the candidate has done their research about the company, hotel or not. They are able to ace the answer, In case if they are able to talk about what stands out about the company’s mission and values, and how that resonates with their own career path. If candidates find the purpose of the company intriguing and they want to align themselves with the company’s purpose it automatically becomes an added advantage

   §   Tell me about a time you encountered a business challenge & How did you overcome it?.

This kind of question is asked to understand if the candidate proactively reacts to the situation or acts promptly in the situation, what was the task they had to undergo, what was their plan of action, how did they mobilize the team to solve the situation in hand along with themselves and what was the result because of the course of action undertaken by them.

   §   Tell me as a leader what has been your contribution towards Training your employees and mentoring your subordinates?.

It is responsibility of every leader to create better leaders and managers than himself for the organisation. If any proactive step was taken in developing talent and is able to justify it with giving examples.

   §   Tell me about a time you have disagreed about any idea or decision with your head of department or your fellow managers.

The key here is to gauge one’s ability to handle conflict in a mature way and come up with a compromise that is mutually beneficial to all the parties involved.

   §   How do you address any behavioral issue or any performance issue with any colleague?

This is a definite question of anyone being interviewed for the leadership role to gauge his or her people management skills. Every situation and colleague is unique and requires personalized attention.

   §   Tell me what have been your coping mechanism during COVID -19 ?

Through this I am able to gauge that does the candidate has out of the box thinking and survival spirit within himself. We live in a VUCA world now, this question helps me to understand if a candidate can adapt, improvise and overcome in any problem he or she is subjected to.

---

Interview Questions I Like To Ask - Prabir Kumar Patra, BTEC Hospitality Teacher & Assessor Sh. Maaungoodhoo School Ministry of Education, Maldives

1. Introduce Yourself ? (This is a very common Interview Question irrespective of job roles )

2.How did you know about this job role ? ( This is an important question to know the source of information of the job advt. found by the Applicant . )

3.What do you know about us (Company) ? -This Question is important for the Recruiter to know the level of interest of candidates

4.Why should we hire you over other candidates ? ( In order to check how an applicant present their profiles/How an Applicant Creates positive impression ) .

5.Why do you want to change your Present job ? ( To check the applicant's interest to switch a job ) .

6.Where do you see yourself in next 3-5 years ? ( Very Common Question in Job Interview )

7.How can you help us to grow ? ( Applicant's view on Company's Growth and Development )

8..Which Department do you like and why ? ( For Interns )

9.What are the duties and Responsibilities of an Intern ?

10.What are the Qualities required to work in Hospitality Industry ?

11. What do you know about the job roles of an Entry level Staff in a Hotel/Resort ?

12.How much do you expect ? ( This Question is to check the Applicant's expectation on Salary )