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

1991 hospitality was still hotel management and catering technology. We studied for a diploma in those days. The national catering council was set up and degree courses started. It was an upstream struggle, firstly hotels being very limited and male-dominated and secondly, I was a diploma holder vying for a position against the degree holders. Our campus interview gave me a chance to display my worth and got selected at the Taj President, Mumbai designated as a hotel operations trainee. The appointment itself was so fulfilling that the remuneration did not matter.

After 12 glorious years at the Taj with every day being an upward learning curve and bosses who offered opportunities to enhance my skills and knowledge, I decided to explore the housekeeping world outside of the hotel industry. That took me on the journey of facility management, fine dining restaurant chain, project management, client management to name a few. I was lucky to step into the field of academics and also earned a certification from Lausanne Hospitality Consulting, Switzerland. From then on began my journey as a Certified Facilitator. Designing facilitation programs across the three domains of learning ie; cognitive, affective, and psychomotor gave me the edge to explore facilitation in manufacturing, mining, IT with the healthcare and hospitality industry.

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

Consistent, dedicated hard work. An open mind to explore new opportunities and deal with every difficult situation with a learning approach.

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

Communication skills are of prime importance.

Any candidate has to display a service attitude through thought, words, and deeds. These are observable in the CV and during the interview.

Last but not least - prompt and alert approach to any situation.

Editor: What is the single factor that got you your promotion?
There is never a single factor responsible for success. Every department in hospitality demands a set of attributes. Each situation calls on these attributes. Sharpening your saw keeps one at the top of the game. The top four that helped me through the journey are an eye for detail, prompt communication, patience, and a genuine smile.

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

Hospitality today has overlapped with retail, logistics, and the IT industry. Survival now depends on developing interfaces with these industries. The challenge here is to overcome the limitations of the interfaces so as not to lose the width and the depth of hospitality. While some factors have eased out processes like the documentation and forecasting of customer needs, the pricing of the services which is more open now, retaining the flavor of customized service is more challenging. Anticipating and catering to customer demands is the core of hospitality which has to be preserved.

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

Hospitality in itself is a very dynamic industry. It keeps changing itself and that is exciting.

Editor: What is your favorite question for a candidate interview and why?

'Tell me something about yourself is a question that helps to assess the attributes required for the industry and the department. It brings out the natural personality of the candidate.