Peter Nirmal-GM of Taj Gateway speaks on ‘Hoteliering’ at MMCHM Nat’l Conference
- Peter Nirmal-GM of Hotel Taj Gateway speaks on ‘Hoteliering’ – a Fast-Moving Career with many Choices in Today’s Trend’ during the Nat’l Conference on ‘Entrepreneurship in Tourism & Hospitality Industry in India’ held at Moti Mahal College of Hotel Management (MMCHM)- Mangaluru
Mangaluru: In order to provide a unique forum for attendees from Academia, Industry, Medical, Government, and other organizations related to Hospitality Industry, Hotel Moti Mahal College of Hotel Management-Mangaluru organized a National Level Conference on “Entrepreneurship in Tourism and Hospitality Industry in India” at Hotel Moti Mahal convention Hall.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) in its “Tourism 2020 Vision” has accepted the role of tourism as an integral part of global economy and importance within the field of sustainable development. In view, it has become important to project India as an attractive destination for all type of tourists across the world. With available geological resources to the colorful history and culture of our country the responsibility falls on Hotel Industry shoulders to educate and inform people everywhere and to create healthy image so as to attract tourists to visit India. This will be achieved through synergy of multidisciplinary research and through conceptual based idea generation and discussion among academicians, management experts, industry professionals, scholars and students to exchange their knowledge, experience, research findings and information about various aspects to promote brand India-“Incredible India”.
To transform the Human Society with very good Guest-Host relationship into a happy, inclusive, responsible, globally competitive and innovation driven society through structural transformation blended with new-age thinking and diverse opportunities for the both to tourism professionals and lovers of tourism activities. And for MMCHM which has been celebrating an interesting year by hosting an array of events connected with the Institution’s silver jubilee celebrations, today’s conference is yet another feather added to their cap, a event which is unique and quite informative for all those in hotel industry.
The programme began with invoking Gods blessings through a prayer song, followed by welcome address by Prof. Sooraj R V-Principal of MMCHM. The programme was inaugurated by lighting of the traditional lamp by Chief guest Peter Nirmal-General Manager, Hotel Taj Gateway-Mangaluru, along with other dignitaries on the dais namely- Prashanth Shetty-Vice president, Laxmi Memorial Education Trust; Prof. Sooraj RV; Prof. Parvadhavardhini Gopalakrishnan-Principal Head of Institution in the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA) at Manipal, and Conference Keynote speaker; Dr Jayaprakash Rao-Director, AJ INstitute of Management Studies-Mangaluru; and Prasanna Shetty- Principal, Laxmi memorial College of Hotel Management.
A prelude of the Conference was delivered by Prof Nikhilesh Nair- Convener-MMCHM, which was followed by the inaugural address by the chief guest, where he talked about on the topic-“Hoteliering -a Fast Moving Career with many chances in today’s trend” ( A full detail of the speech is incorporated below). In his presidential address, Prashanth Shetty praised the committee members for organizing a very informative and important conference relevant to hospitality industry, and complimented MMCHM for providing professional training in hospitality and tourism industry for the last 25 years. The vote of thanks was proposed by Prof Neena Umesh- Associate Professor, who was also the compere along with Ms Sheebha Jasmine Ammanna, both of them of MMCHM.
During the one-day conference there will be technical sessions and panel discussions. Renowned speakers will talking on various topics pertaining to Hotel Industry, Hospitality enterprises; HR Practices and Manpower issues in Hotel Industry; Legal aspects of setting up an establishment; medical tourism etc. The valedictory function at 5pm, was graced by Dr Leela Upadhyaya-Advisor, Sharada Group of Institutions-Mangaluru as chief guest, and Ms Ashritha P Shetty, Director, LMET as guest of honor.
Following is the inaugural speech delivered by chief guest-Peter Nirmal-GM, Hotel Taj Gateway-Mangaluru:
“Hoteliering – a fast-moving career with many choices in today’s trend”
Hotels are amongst the most visible and important aspects of the travel industry. The quality and availability of accommodation at any destination determines its inflow of visitors. With greater number of people travelling for both business and pleasure, and the increase in numbers of tourists both international as well as national, the variety and complexity of needs and expectations of hotel guests in India has been greatly extended.
Consequently, the hotel industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the past three decades. In 1967, there were barely 200 approved hotels in the country. Today there are well over 1,000 + brands, and many more lodges, rest houses and budget establishments catering to travelers of all income groups. Moreover, today’s hotels are better equipped and offer a greater number of services at many more locations.
Hoteliering overlaps the leisure and travel industries, and is also going through an expansion phase. It, therefore, has a huge employment capacity. It is also an area where women are employed in large numbers and are doing well. Hotels are approved by the department of tourism and are classified on the basis of prescribed norms for services and facilities.Work in the area of hotel management involvesGeneral Operations,Front Office, Sales & Marketing, Food & Beverages, Housekeeping and Other Departments likeEngineering, security, Finance and Human Resources.
Hoteliering is a well-paying and fast-moving career, where upward mobility is purely merit- based. Moreover, with increasing internationalisation, jobs are likely to open up abroad offering better remuneration and opportunities for travel as well as professional and personal growth.
“Competencies required for a successful hotelier”
Competencies are the skills, knowledge, practical behaviors and attitudes which inform the way you operate in working life. The hospitality industry is dependent on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. This industry offers a wide range of career options, from cooking, waiting, hosting, or running a resort. To be successful in the industry, you’ll need certain qualities, certifications and skills that employers are searching for and what customer expects,and the path to being successful in the Hospitality industry.
1. Commitment & Highly Attuned to Details: The top priority of hospitality managers is to ensure that every guest has the best experience possible. This requires you to be hyper-vigilant about every detail from the top to the bottom, ranging from the fresh seasonal flowers in the hotel lobby to the intricately folded napkins on the dining table to the efficient check-in and check-out process at the front desk.In the hospitality industry, your main task is to be committed to ensuring customer satisfaction. This requires you being willing to do whatever it takes to keep customers happy and also create repeat business. An aspect of commitment from employees is they must be very thorough in their work and realise that any oversight could result in customer dissatisfaction, whereas going the extra mile for a customer may result in repeat business and positive perception of the company.
2. Interpersonal Skills & Efficient Problem Solver:Thinking quickly, making decisive decisions and responding sensitively to customers’ and employees’ questions and concerns are a hospitality manager’s most important job duties. A sympathetic ear and a genuine effort to fix an issue goes a long way in preventing problems that can quickly spread. You must also be able to anticipate issues and have a backup plan for when things go wrong — and they will on an almost daily basis! Staying ahead of the competition depends on you coming up with creative solutions and implementing visionary ideas using the tools at your disposal to offer the best service possible:To be successful in hospitality, one must have top notch interpersonal skills, as the very nature of the business is to provide spectacular customer service and interact with customers on a regular basis. Taking that a step further there’s a direct correlation between those that are successful in the hospitality business and those with excellent communication skills. This ability involves being able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, allowing you to make positive connections with clients, guests, vendors, and even other employees.
3. Excellent Time Management Skills &Problem-Solving:Being a manager in the hospitality industry requires you to have an organized, punctual schedule. However, you are often required to work long, unusual hours and must drop everything in your personal life to deal with an immediate crisis at any moment. You not only need to be flexible and adaptable to the fast-paced, varying workload but also resourceful in how you handle all your responsibilities.
Thinking about problems that relate to your own role in the hospitality and service activities and being able to contribute to productive outcomes is a crucial skill. This involves developing creative, innovative and practical solutions which can be developed through showing independence and initiative in identifying and solving problems. Some circumstances were these may be used include avoiding deadline issues by planning your personal day-to-day operational activities or identifying and resolving routine customer or operational problems using the predetermined policies and procedures to guide effective solutions.
4. Be a Team Motivator &Teamwork: You are only as strong as the team you lead, so you must strive to be more than just a manager. Listening to your staff, implementing their ideas, sharing credit and owning up to your mistakes will command respect and maintain morale. As the manager, you should be willing to jump in and get the job done even when it is well outside the scope of your responsibilities or below your pay grade. When the need arises, you must take off your suit jacket, roll up your sleeves and then begin changing sheets, stocking shelves or carrying luggage. Leading by example teaches your staff that you value hard work and self-motivation and that the company’s only goal is to satisfy the customers.
Successful members of the hospitality industry work well with others and can be a productive member of a team. They value the contributions of everyone and make significant contributions to an organization’s overall success. Key abilities required include being able to work effectively as a team member through taking instructions form others and understanding your own role in servicing the needs of the hospitality customer. Supporting other team members to coordinate activities to achieve quality service delivery of the business’s product and respecting cultural diversity of team members and seeking their assistance to service the culturally diverse needs of customers.
5. Relate to Diverse People & Organized :Hospitality managers interact with an internationally diverse group of people. This job also requires you to work with people of all personality types. You need to be able to listen to what customers and employees are not saying and watch how they are behaving. Paying attention to these non-verbal clues will enable you to identify and deter concerns before they escalate into real problems. Anticipating the needs of your customers, even before they realize them, is the key to making them feel pampered.
To stay on top of the multitude of tasks you’ll face as a hospitality employee, you have to be organized and multitask without difficulty. The Hospitality is an industry where you need to be able to juggle multiple tasks, with all levels, and careers in hospitality requiring employees to handle multiple responsibilities simultaneously. On a typical day, a hotel manager might have to negotiate a contract with a vacuum rental company, handle a dissatisfied guest, fill out paperwork for an employee injured in a kitchen fire, and keep a smile on his or her face to greet new guests, all in the course of one afternoon. Employers want to know you can handle the fast paced, varied work load on offer whilst still maintaining a high level of satisfaction.
6. Flexibility:Hospitality employees often have unusual hours or longer hours than your average desk job and on the job; they must be ready to switch gears at a moment’s notice if unexpected situations arise. Being adaptable to multiple positions is an aspect of hospitality which is invaluable, being versatile makes you indispensable to employers and having a larger skill set will make you extremely resourceful allowing you to see a situation more clearly then someone less experienced.
On behalf of the Taj Group of Hotels & Management, it is indeed my pleasure to have participated and shared the platform today. I wish all students a wonderful bright career, every success ladder that you climb buys you a ticket for another challenge; I am confident that with your resilience, dedication, hard work and persistence, you will achieve successes in your future endeavour.
