The Man of All Seasons

BISWAJIT CHAKRABORTY is one of the most elegant and dapper man I have ever met. But don’t let appearances fool you, he may be the personification of charm for his guest, but the General Manager of the Sofitel Mumbai in BKC is a stickler for details. It shows in the almost perfect service at the property and the way in which everything seems to move with a genteel purpose.

Chakraborty began his stint in hotels because it excited him, then went on to work in three of India’s biggest names in luxury hospitality, Taj, Oberoi and of course Leela. In all of these places, he seems to have imbibed what he felt would suit his demeanour and style and moved on to bigger better things. 

BW Hotelier got the opportunity to speak with this man of all seasons on what drives him to do better and his whole management ethos, beginning with his current position at the Sofitel.

“Personally for me this is a landmark in my career. Sofitel as a brand globally is very unique in terms of its aesthetics. It’s like a designer brand, not in the sense of a contemporary hotel, but it has pillars of experiences which it curates,” Chakraborty began by telling me.

“In my experience, while I had the privilege of working in some of India’s finest brands, here, we have combined that service ethos with the French sense of style and graciousness in whatever they do, which is a perfect fit for India,” he went on to explain. 

Sofitel was all about blending cultures, he continued, like the two links of their logo, one denoting the French link, the other the local, in this case Indian link.

“The international guest gets a flavour of India, the Indian guests gets a flavour of France, to me it was a very unique blend, a defining moment of my career, where I was able to give my guests a truly international experience, that too with a French flair,” Chakraborty said.

But what keeps such a perfectionist going, we asked? “When I wake up every morning, I am very grateful for what I have. My personal motto is gratitude and generating excitement every day. I chose hospitality as a career because I enjoy its tenets--whether it is the detailing, whether it is the atmosphere, whether it is the guest. We have the privilege of giving joy to our guests within these four walls. I think that is what keeps me going,” he said. 

His inspirations are many, he confessed, but, “the one of the persons I really look up to is Captain Nair when I worked with the Leela. I had the privilege of leading two of his hotels, including the flagship in Mumbai. I have always marvelled at his thinking. He thought big and his motto was aim for the stars and you’ll get the moon. He would be the person who I probably admire the most. Not only for his hoteliering skills, but for his philosophies,” he said. 

When it comes to comparing other properties with his own in this very competitive market, Chakraborty is quite relaxed and simply states, “I am not jealous of other hotels. I am really proud that India has fantastic brands like the Oberoi, Leela and Taj and I feel really privileged that I am working for Accor and Sofitel. I look at and enjoy each brand for that it is. They are unique and I study them in depth in my own way, emulating somethings, while realising that others are just too unique to copy. I am still fascinated by the subject of hospitality even after so many years.” 

What about the future, we asked? “As a hotelier, you are employed to get the top line and the bottom line, you’re employed to get quality and take the brand forward. I see India powering ahead at a steady pace with the current government opening up. In the good thing in our field with a plethora of brands beginning to compete in each segment, and at the end of the day, I think demand is growing faster than supply which is in our favour,” he explained. 

But there was need to be a little cautious, he added, “whatever we do, it has to be perceived as value for money by the customer because it’s best not to get too greedy at this juncture. While the dream of every hotelier is the highest ADR and occupancies, you have to balance it with the economy and the customer’s propensity, the country, the continent. I don’t see too many challenges. I’m quite positive,” he told us. 

“One area where I see a constant challenge is in the human factor. People who work for hotels. Good people are few and far between even now. I am very hopeful of the younger generation, who are very focussed, but sometimes I fear that technology should not replace hospitality. I have apprehensions especially in the luxury field. Technology should be used to serve better, but the tenets of hospitality, a warm handshake, meeting people in person, serving hot food, flowers, should not vanish,” he added. 

Finally, Chakraborty confessed that he was “very happy being an Inn keeper, whether it’s running a large inn, a small inn or a cluster of inns. At the end of the day, that is something which I enjoy. I am not too sure I will be happy in a corporate office away from where all the action is. I would rather run a bunch of hotels in the field, or even run a hotel. I need to be shop floor bound”. It is the human contact which has kept him excited about his job all his hoteliering life, he add, so it’s no real surprise.

And if he wasn’t in hotels, Chakraborty revealed that he would probably be a martial arts instructor since he has been practicing both Karate and Kung Fu for many years has black belts in both. Now, we knew there was a reason why the service was so good at his hotels!!