Having completed my bachelors’ degree in Hospitality management, my first job
in Hotel operations was that of an Assistant Front Office Manager at the
Doubletree Hilton in Philadelphia. I joined an extended stay hotel as the
Resident Manager in Newark, Delaware shortly thereafter. In 2002, an opportunity
to work at Cendant Corporation in Parsippany, NJ as a Franchise Services Manager
helped me 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 150 franchised 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 the United
States, I decided to move back to India and was extremely fortunate to find an
opportunity to work at HVS. I joined HVS in 2007 and am currently the Associate
Director-Consulting & Valuation, performing and supervising feasibility studies,
market area analyses, brand entry and repositioning strategies, master planning
for mixed use projects as well as portfolio valuations for hospitality ventures
in South Asia. 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) and the annual
Hotel Operations Summit
(HOSI), two well respected and highly attended conferences that are hosted
by HVS India. 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