No, It's Not a Casting Couch. This is W's Casting Night

Bikramjit Ray Jun 06, 2016

The first W Hotel is about to launch in Goa. The St Regis, Mumbai, another first for Starwood, hosts the W Casting Night on June 9. But what exactly is the event and what is the purpose for hosting it. BW Hotelier asked TJ Joulak, General Manager of the soon to be hotel about it.

“With W Hotels all set to launch its first hotel in India, our search is on for the best talents to be the faces of the hotel – As the hotel will be a stage, so its Talents are On Show all the time and hence we look for attitudes to bring forward the W brand while showcasing what India and Goa has to offer to every guest and visitor,” he began by telling me. W is not an ordinary hotel, which is why their search for recruits isn’t ordinary either, he added. It’s a brand which delivers the Whatever/Whenever service promise.

“Casting night is a W-style unconventional recruitment drive with which we are changing the way one employs talents. We want to see our talents in their true selves in a social setting. The night is also about identifying those who resonate with the brand and its passion points of Music, Fashion, Design and Fuel,” he said.

Senior management hold a series of engagement sessions with the shortlisted candidates in a “reality-TV” type process. We are really excited to hold our first ‘Casting Night’ in Mumbai. We are targeting to recruit up to 200 talents across various departments.

Over six weeks, the hotel launched a social media campaign to tease and invite candidates to submit their applications with pictures. The hotel received close to 2000 profiles after 4000 ‘engaged conversations’. Those shortlisted have been invited to the Casting Night event on June 9 in Mumbai’s St Regis.

“We were happy to see that a lot of candidates out of Mumbai have shown interest to attend. We do realise that a lot of attendees may come simply out of curiosity. Hence we will have a first ‘checkpoint’ at the registration desk at the venue. Here we will also divide them as per their departments of choice. They will also be given a ‘band of approval’ and led into the fabulous Penthouse floor of The St Regis Mumbai. We will transform this venue into a W Living Room, with music, lights, screens and a red carpet to give them a real ‘Superstar’ feel when they enter,” Joulak told us.

Joulak would personally immerse the candidates then into the W brand and tell them about the product. After this, potential candidates would meet senior management and department heads on a one-on-one basis. Those selected will receive their notes of hiring.

To be more accessible, Joulak said, the campaign for getting new recruits used we the social media route, posting on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and of course Facebook pages. They then used the Starwood Regional office to help spread the word and placed ads in Mumbai’s main newspapers, inviting candidates to send in their profiles and 3 images to casting.wgoa@whotels.com. Candidates were shortlisted based on their personality fits and invited to the W casting night.

Sharing a little bit about the upcoming hotel, Joulak said that it was slated to open in Goa in the fourth quarter of the year. The property was located on Vagator beach.

“With its contemporary design, signature amenities and a full calendar of W happenings, W Goa will showcase what’s new and next in design, music, and fashion. Guests will also experience the brand’s iconic Whatever/Whenever service that delivers whatever they want, whenever they want it,” he added.