Ashish Modak: this month, offering sage advice to work-driven hoteliers.
We hoteliers are tunnel-visioned breed.
We take so much for granted, automatically expecting everything to be done wonderfully, in all spheres of life — just as we try and deliver everything to our guests in our own professional lives.
The perfect, dream-come-true experience for all guests is the standard expectation (or hope) of every hotel manager.
And for all good hoteliers — in every bracket of the hospitality world, ranging from bed-and-breakfasts to budget and mid-range to luxury deluxe properties — these ‘ideals’ are often the GM’s basic expectations, and allow for no compromise whatsoever.
For members of the hospitality trade, perfection must become a standard.
Over the 16 years I have worked in the hospitality industry, these ideas have become part of my everyday life.
I like things to be planned, organised, prepared to perfection, and I will accept no excuses for that end result not being achieved.
This general idea has turned into a variety of standard phrases in the hotel world: ‘Never say No’, ‘Its always a Yes’, ‘Can Do’, ‘Guests always come first’ and the like can no doubt be heard at morning briefings in hotels around the world.
These ideals may seem to border on the obsessive, but trust me: a lifetime of striving for perfection has its benefits.
These high standards get incorporated into daily hotel practice and, thanks to similar-minded individuals, the workplace soon becomes an enjoyable environment and your enthusiastic working ethos flourishes.
But this morning, when I was bidding farewell to some guests in the reception lobby of my hotel, something suddenly dawned on me.
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