A Week in the Life

Achin Khanna, Consulting & Valuation, New Delhi Office

After having completed a four year degree in Hospitality management, I started my career in Hotel operations as an Assistant Front Office Manager in Philadelphia. I moved into a mid-market hotel as the Resident Manager in Delaware shortly thereafter. Having spent a few years in core operations, I joined Cendant Corporation in Parsippany, NJ as a Franchise Services Manager and had the opportunity to understand the intricate details of the corporate hotel franchising model. I further moved into revenue management for the Wyndham hotel group and while being based out of Houston, I advised over 100 franchised budget hotels across Texas on their yield management and revenue maximization strategies.

I also completed my MBA in Global Business Management alongside this job. Having spent a decade working across various facets of the hotel business in USA, I decided to move back to India and was extremely fortunate to find a position in the Consulting and Valuation business in HVS, India. I joined HVS in August 2007 as a Senior Associate and have been performing feasibility studies, market area analyses and single asset as well as portfolio valuations for hospitality ventures in the Indian sub continent for the last year and a half. Here's a rundown of a "typical" week:

Monday

• Morning meeting to discuss new leads, consulting proposals and status of ongoing assignment.
• Reply to phone calls and e-mails.
• Preliminary desktop research for the feasibility study of a full-service business hotel in the Mumbai market.
• Call and request interview times with contacts in the field (GMs, HODs)
• Read up on recent literature on the state of Maharashtra and Mumbai's economy, including transportation links, key demand generators and announcement about upcoming projects.
• Book flight, accommodations, and rental car for Mumbai.
• Spend time in simultaneously completing a report for an ongoing assignment in New Delhi.

Tuesday

• Reply to phone calls and e-mails from clients
• Read up on recent Hotel, Financial and Economic publications.
• Meet with a prospective client who would like to understand the services offered by HVS Consulting and have a proposal created for a portfolio valuation.
• Spend time with a new colleague to explain the HVS models and boilers in detail.
• Create maps to use during my field work in Mumbai and for inclusion in the final report.
• Prepare fieldwork checklist, including questions to ask the interviewees
• Pack for trip – ensuring to bring business cards, digital camera, and contact numbers and addresses
• Evening flight and arrival in Mumbai

Wednesday & Thursday

• Drive through the proposed subject property's neighborhood, noting surrounding land uses.
• Conduct interview of the client and ask additional questions during a guided tour of the site.
• Take pictures and note anything particularly important to mention in my write-up of the site and its surroundings.
• Visit competing hotels and interview their General Managers and/or Director of Sales and F&B Directors.
• Visit city offices for information on plans for the growth and development of industry and infrastructure as well as zoning and other relevant regulations.
• Visit the sites for all other upcoming hotel projects. Take pictures and gauge the extent of development accomplished by them to competently forecast their expected dates of opening.
• Gather additional information regarding airport expansion plans, convention center development, commercial buildings and retail areas development/ absorption trends, etc.
• Arrive home Thursday late evening

Friday

• Organize my fieldwork notes, answer emails, return calls.
• Start detailed feasibility analysis.
• Once the numbers have been finalized, start working on the detailed report and after completion; run it by the Editor before final submission to client.

My job at HVS provides me a unique platform to interact on a frequent basis with the key stakeholders and decision makers of the industry. Additionally, travelling to key business destinations and renowned leisure markets is certainly one of the best perks of the job. Overall, the perspective earned as a result of the varied projects that I consult on over is priceless.

Other aspects of my job include active involvement in the preparation and execution of the annual Hotel Investment Conference – South Asia (HICSA), a well respected and highly attended investment conference that is hosted by HVS India. I also routinely attend other regional conferences such as the one in Hong Kong. Writing relevant articles pertaining to the hotel industry as well as participating in varied HVS publications is another fruitful part of the job. I have been able to thus develop a well rounded and in-depth understanding of the hotel business and am extremely excited at the prospect of further honing my skills as I continue to grow in this business. I would recommend a career at HVS to anyone who has the urge to be a key player in the overall setup of the hospitality industry.