My hospitality career began with my first job with Hilton Hotels in Mumbai, India. Like any other hospitality graduate, I too aspired to carve out a career in hospitality operations and eventually become the General Manager of a hotel. This glorious dream also motivated me to pursue higher education, and I enrolled in the Hospitality Master Program at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland. My interest in Real Estate Finance and Hospitality Consulting was piqued quickly at the institute, and I was fortunate enough to be offered a position at HVS as an Associate in the Consulting & Valuation team for South Asia. Since joining HVS in July 2021, I have worked on a variety of market studies, operator searches, valuation studies, and feasibility studies. I have got the opportunity to travel to various cities, learn about the diverse hospitality markets, and gain perspective on a range of hotel properties and their offerings.

Though my work at HVS is generally project-based and may differ from week to week, here’s what a typical week at HVS looks like:

  • The week starts with checking emails, updating myself on new client requests, and making a note of the status of ongoing assignments and deadlines.
  • Making a to-do list and prioritizing tasks comes next.
  • Reading the HVS Monday Musings article every Monday morning is a key priority.
  • The weekly team meeting on Tuesdays provides me an overview of the assignments that the other business verticals are working on, as well as leads generated and a general industry update.
  • Keeping myself abreast on the new happenings in the hospitality industry.
  • Performing preliminary desktop research on the city for upcoming assignments to get a sense of macroeconomic factors.
  • Creating a database of existing and upcoming hotels for the assignment.
  • Acquainting myself to the city by mapping out hotels relevant to the study.
  • Graphically representing historical performance of the hospitality market and the hotels of competitive positioning.
  • Making a fieldwork schedule for upcoming site visits.
  • Planning my travel as well as sending out appointment requests to General Managers.
  • Organising notes and information gathered after fieldwork.
  • Carrying out Feasibility Studies and Valuations based on data and perspectives gathered from hotel experts in the region.
  • Drafting a report with my findings.
  • Updating any changes requested by clients and attending to their queries.
  • Invoicing and Payment check.
  • Submitting the final report to the client.
  • Staying in touch in case of further assistance on new assignments.

While this is just a snapshot of my typical week at HVS, I would want to emphasize that our work here is extremely dynamic, with no dull moments. Working at HVS not only supports my desire to travel, but also expands my knowledge on the hospitality industry in India, while allowing me to maintain a healthy work-life balance. The work culture is conducive to my growth as an individual as well as my career as a budding expert in the Hospitality and Real Estate industries.