By Bikramjit Ray HOW DOES a young man with ambitions of becoming an Air Force Pilot, become the COO in charge of Asia Pacific of one of the world’s best hotel brands? This is precisely how I began my chat with Rajeev Menon, the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Operating Officer - Asia Pacific (Excluding Greater China) at Marriott International, during his recent visit to inaugurate Marriott’s 29th property in India. ’Basically, my first ambition, while I was growing up, studying at the Navy Public School, Chanakyapuri, was to become an Indian Air Force pilot. Unfortunately, my eyesight wasn’t good enough, so I had to look for my next best option. As I had a couple of relatives already in the business, I was lured in during those early days by the ’glamour’ of the business. I jumped right in,’ Menon told me at our tete-a-tete. Menon went on to complete his hotel management from IHM Pusa in 1988-89 and joined ITC as a management trainee. He was one of the group of trainees who were involved in running the Searock in Mumbai. Menon wanted to see the world and when the opportunity came in 1992 to move to Australia, he jumped and shifted base to Sydney, without a job in hand. ’I moved to Sydney when Australia was going through one of its worst recessions and being a young boy from India with no Australian experience, I must have given 25 interviews and got rejected on the proviso that I had no Australian experience. That is when I decided I was going to start from scratch. I applied to a reasonably new hotel, a Radisson property in Sydney, for a front desk job. After six rounds of interviews over three weeks, I ended up as the banquet manager for that hotel,’ he recalled. -A big part of Menon’s training was in the F&B Operation side of the business, which held him in good stead. He travelled around Australia working for Radisson for the next five years before joining a company called Stanford who were entering Australia with an eye to buy hotel assets. ’I started with them as Director F&B for what was the largest food and beverage operation in South Australia in Adelaide. I grew to become the operations manager for the group’as they continued to acquire various hotels, the Intercontinentals, the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton, I was like the ops guy for the CEO of the company,’ he said. One of Menon’s life goals was to become a general manager by the age of 30. ’I got the job 15 days after my 30th birthday in 1998. I ended up taking over a couple of Ritz Carlton Hotels that Stanford owned and were re-branding,’ he remembers. This was also the time that Menon decide that he wanted to be in an organisation where he was going to spend a large part of his career. He had shortlisting two organisation and it was in March 2001, that Menon joined Marriott, one of his two choices. ’The opportunity that Marriott gave me was to move back to India in late March 2001, and open what was going to be our second complex here--the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel Convention Centre and the Marriott Executive Apartments,’ Menon told me. He opened the complex in September 2001. Though the going was tough initially, he said, once things caught on, the destination really shone. Not only was Mumbai shifting outwards towards the north, but from a destination point of view, it was like an urban resort, he felt. At the end of 2004 Menon was asked by Marriott to go back to Australia and run Australia and New Zealand as country GM, as well as be the GM of the flagship hotel which was the Sydney Harbour Marriott. ’So I moved back and almost three years later I got a phone call from our head of Asia Pacific, asking me to set up the India Area Office,’ he remembered. In 2007 Menon moved back and set up the area office in Mumbai. ’At that point we had six hotels in India. I was looking after South Asia, which included Pakistan all the way down to Malaysia and I had Australia as well. As India started to grow, I slowly started to shed countries and basically eventually it was South Asia given where we are with India today,’ Menon explained. His latest move has been to Singapore to take over the whole Asia Pacific region, which happened in early 2015. His career path has stayed well on course, because in his words, he has been in the right place at the right time. When I asked Menon about what was his style of management and how it worked, he began by saying, ’to me there are three things that are important. One, is an inclusive style of management which means you need to engage with the team, get people's opinions and make decisions based on sound advice. Second, focus on performance through simplicity. Don't overcrowd your sheet with too many goals. Focus on key goals. Third for me is to lead by example, you need get dirty and learn with the team. That is my personal style.’ From a company perspective, he added, ’the aim was to position each of our brands as the best in class. We do a lot of research before we bring in a brand into India and when we do, we want to make it the best in class. This is proven by the premiums that we drive compared to our competitors’. The other critically important factor are the people. ’As a company we have always enjoyed a very strong culture. We wanted to make sure we were creating global careers with Indian associates. If you look at our journey over time, we have really gone from having loads of expats in the early days to today where 98 per cent of our colleagues are Indians. Over the years we have sent hundreds of Marriott associates to work in other hotels around the world. Our core culture is taking good care of our people. We make sure we focus on our training development growth and really create careers,’ he explained. And the life lesson which has really held him in good stead was the experience of working at the Searock Mumbai, during the strike. ’We worked from 6 am till 12 or 1 am at night, non-stop. Even today, if things get tough, I can roll up my sleeves and jump into anything,’ he told me, with a glint of excitement in his eyes. A version of this interview first appeared in BW Hotelier Magazine. The author is Executive Editor of BW Hotelier.
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THIS IS the second time that Stephen Holmes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (see photo), has been to India and he is happy with what he sees. "I enjoyed it then and I am enjoying it this trip as well. It’s an amazing marketplace. Amazing culture and great growth potential,’ he told me during our interview. ’I think all the indicators are pointing towards great growth in India. If you look at the demographics, you have got a very young, very technology savvy, consumer base here.
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One of the most common queries I receive on my YouTube show is asking me why hotels adopt digital strategies last. Hoteliers analyze every channel of publicity and marketing, conduct audits and post mortems before realizing the true value of investing in digital strategy. Sometimes, they jump on to the proverbial ’bandwagon’ which others are already using.
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By Praveen S Chauhan’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’ VASTU SHASTRA, is a belief system used in architecture and construction which can be traced back to ancient Indian traditions. Vastu is known to incorporate traditional Hindu and in some cases Buddhist beliefs-to bring in positivity, wealth and well-being in businesses, buildings and locations. The principles of Vastu should be used while planning a venture in the world of hospitality to prevent the subsequent business from running into losses as a result of faulty planning. The infrastructure of any hotel or restaurant, if not aligning with Vastu principles, may fail to attract guests or generate a profit. Thus, it is always advisable to integrate vastu principles during the planning stage of a hotel or restaurant. However, if your hotel or restaurant is already constructed, here are a few Vastu suggestions that you can follow to generate more business. The overall shape of a hotel or restaurant should be a square or a rectangular with the main entrance either in the east, north or north-eastern direction. The storage room for the business should be strategically located in the south-west corner of the building and specific for hotels, the beds in the room should be placed in a direction so that the head of the guest is in the south or the west direction only. Technology-centric equipment like air conditions, generators, transformers and the kitchen should be located in the south-east corner of the hotel. Also, having a fish tank or a water feature in the very same corner (south-east) ensures profitability and affluence. The use of warm colours like orange, yellow, cream and brown used in the interiors as well as menu design are considered to bring positive energy to the establishment, while the excessive use of cooler shades like grey and green may gradually lower profits. The author is a Delhi based Astropalmist
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NOVEMBER 2014, the latest month for which the widely quoted benchmarking service STR Global has just released data, was particularly good for Mumbai, which saw the second highest average hotel occupancy rate (81.2 per cent, up by 15.9 per cent year over year) in the increasingly busy Asia Pacific region, which is dominated by heavy hitters Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Melbourne and Sydney. Mumbai hotels also notched up the second highest RevPAR (revenue per available room), the industry yardstick for a hotel's financial performance. The citywide average RevPAR, reported to be Rs 6,370.92, was up by 17 per cent year over year. The regional average, incidentally, was 72.2 per cent occupancy (down by 0.4 per cent) and a RevPAR of US$83.48 (a dip of 3.4 per cent). Mumbai hotels therefore performed way above the Asia Pacific average. Interestingly, the India's nationwide averages, according to STR Global, were also significantly lower than Mumbai's: 67.7 per cent occupancy (up by 6.9 per cent); average daily rate of Rs 6,137.44 (down by 2.7 per cent); and RevPAR of Rs 4,116.76 (up by 4 per cent). Hanoi, Vietnam, recorded the highest occupancy increases (82.9 per cent, up by 16 per cent year over year), whereas Jakarta fell 9 per cent in occupancy to 71.3 per cent, reporting the largest decrease in that metric. Besides Mumbai, five markets experienced double-digit RevPAR increases. These were: Osaka (+25.7 per cent to JPY13,564.72); Auckland (+11.7 per cent to NZD146.04); Taipei (+11.7 per cent to TWD5,183.20); Shanghai (+11.2 per cent to CNY530.82); and Hanoi (+11.1 per cent to VND1,968,215.43). Seoul (minus-8 per cent to KRW165,287.86) and Phuket (minus-7.4 per cent to THB2,995.11) reported the largest RevPAR decreases. Putting the data in perspective, Elizabeth Wrinkle, Managing Director, STR Global, said: "In the first 11 months, China was able to increase occupancy by 2 per cent to 66.2 per cent year to date; however, the market is still struggling with rate, resulting in a 1 per cent RevPAR decline (when reported in local currency). Japan has remained flat from an occupancy perspective; however, rate still grows, due to ongoing government economic policies, most significantly the weakness of the Yen." Pointing to Thailand, Wrinkle said: "As a result of last spring's military action resulting in uncertainty in the minds of tourists, Thailand has seen demand declines of 11.3 per cent in November year to date, which has negatively impacted occupancy (minus-12.9 per cent). In spite of declining demand and occupancy, the country grew rates, when reported in local currency, by 2.9 per cent. Sourish Bhattacharyya is the Consulting Editor of BW Hotelier.
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THE JOB of the General Manager, or GM, in a five-star hotel has become much more difficult now. When I was a young hotelier, the GM would follow the European tradition of always regarding the customer was king and leaving no stone unturned to keep him happy. The GM used to be a man with a sense of style and was known for his back-slapping conviviality with his guests. The story is very different now. It all started after Indian flagship brands turned towards the US model of hoteliering. They brought in the investors and almost overnight, a lot of importance was given to the return on investments by shareholders. It became the job of a good GM to marry the demands of the customers and those of the shareholders if his hotel was to be labelled a successful business. When the hotel was run under the brand of the owner, sometimes as a single unit, larger risks were often taken. There was more importance given to the style of running the hotel and the amount of satisfaction it brought to both guests and owners. But there is more to the GM's job today than just keeping the shareholders happy. You have to keep the customers happy, make sure the stakeholders who are investors in your hotel are satisfied, and be mindful of a variety of matters, from the environmental impact of the property, to keeping abreast of cutting-edge technology and making sure elements such as health and safety, sleep quality and hygiene (especially if the hotel is in a far-flung location) are constantly taken care of. All this of course is dependent to a great extent on the GM's own desire for personal improvement and upward mobility. In most cases, a GM would want to be in charge of a luxury hotel in a metro. If that were not the case, they would have to adjust their own demands on life and upward mobility with the environment in which they were working, especially if they were posted in a developing market. It gets a little disconnected because the people you begin to work with, who surround you, both at work and in social circles, are of a very different calibre. One other very important aspect of managing a hotel is retaining employees. The hotel business is multi-faceted and people are always moving in and out, creating their own personal relationships and assessments. There is always poaching taking place. Work-life balance needs to be created for the employees to stay on with the hotel because this is a 24-hour industry. Inside the hotel, you would have to take people from the shop floor and help them in interacting successfully with guests who are sometimes icons. The challenge is to get them to interact successfully. The management challenge is to stay on top of it all; it is like being in charge of several businesses at the same time. Today GMs have to be on top of the knowledge chain, from business knowledge, to domain knowledge. They must have a caring attitude towards social as well as environmental issues and be aware of the laws that apply to running the business, over and above what I've mentioned. The GMs no longer are just style icons known for their sharp suits and perfectly folded pocket handkerchiefs. Yes, they need to have a high style quotient, especially when they're interacting with the customers, but above all, their backbone needs to be made of steel, in order for them to bear all the additional responsibilities of running a hotel in the 21st century. It no longer is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-into-the-act kind of business it used to be when I started. S.S.H. 'Habib' Rehman became the Managing Director of the erstwhile ITC Hotels Limited in 1994 and Executive Director of ITC Limited in 1997. He headed the company's hotels, travel and tourism, and food businesses for 12 years before retiring. In 2012, he was re-appointed to the ITC board as an independent non-executive director. His memoir, From Borders to Boardroom, has just been published by Roli Books. As told to Bikramjit Ray.
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THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN THE COUNTRY, to use current terminology, should be an expression of 'Make in India'. It should draw from the consciousness of India. It should reflect the Indian personality. It should address Indian issues. It should be vernacular India. It should be original. And this must translate into its architecture, the way people behave, the dress they wear, the food that is served. It should be an Indian value system. It cannot and should not be a copy of something somewhere else in the world. I think this is our biggest challenge. It comes from our colonial past when we thought -- and we continue to think-that anything foreign in better. Even our regulatory codes must accept the Indian reality. We have the ability to be the best in our class worldwide. If we are catering to visitors who wish to see the country, they would quite naturally want to experience India, the destination, in all its manifestations. Hotels, I believe, need to orient themselves to be as local as possible, yet to subscribe to the highest industry standards. When it comes to fulfilling ecological and environmental responsibilities, they must start by including the local community and adopting local ethos. For example, if you are in Kerala, it would be strange, and environmentally offensive, to bring marble from Rajasthan to embellish hotels. The challenge is to provide to all international visitors an experience of India in India. Using Allen Toffler's enduring chapter title from The Third Wave, 'Gandhi with Satellites', I would emphasise the need for our industry to be as inclusive. Adopt almost village-like qualities on the one hand, while at the same time employ top-of-the-line, cutting-edge technology. Take the case of the Mars mission. It was successful at the first shot at the least cost. It was a case of disruptive innovation. Such disruptive innovations should be seen in hotels across the country. It hardly makes any sense to try and be what we are not. Make in India, Make for India. Such a transformation will give the hotel industry a unique identity, a personality, and differentiate it from hotels in other countries. Only then will the world not measure us according to standards set elsewhere. We have to see the ability of hotels to adapt themselves to different environments and different contexts. Be it at the mega city, at the international airport, or in small towns and in rural environments. This is what we have set out to achieve at CGH Earth. Drawing sustenance from our non-negotiable core value of caring for the environment and the local community, what CGH Earth offers are experiential holiday products. We are now situated in peninsular India, our 16 properties being spread across Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. We believe that in the space we are in, we have considerable competitive leadership. Now we believe the time has come for us to cross the Vindyas and be seen all across India. Our plan is now to go forcefully forward and make our presence felt in newer locations, away from established destinations, without deviating from our brand position. In Kerala, we'll establish ourselves in the north. I don't want to go into the specifics, but we have started work in several locations. We have hotels in the pipeline in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu and Hampi, Karnataka. We are bullish about our plans for the future. Jose Dominic is the Managing Director and CEO of CGH Earth The article first appeared in the inaugural edition of BW Hotelier, JAN-FEB 2015.
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