LuxeBook September 2022

They would receive time-off against time taken, failing which they would be compensated for their time. We have hired more staff members as well, to make sure our colleagues get relieved on time.” He adds that steps have been taken at Marriott for their well-being as well, such as, “We now have programs for them to help them with their career development. We have human capital planning and a management development academy where our colleagues can partake in furthering their career.” Problem of attrition As people go back to travelling, the increased number of jobs in the industry has led to a high attrition level in the industry. People are reportedly jumping between jobs as fast as three months with a hike, with the increase in demand. Mr Abhinash Manghani, CEO of Welcom Heritage Hotels, pointed out the importance of making employees feel a sense of ownership to check this, “It is essential for organisations to create an engaging culture and work environment for their employees, that is grounded in established corporate vision that their employees can relate to and feel a part of, through their day-to-day behaviours and action.” Creating a fun work environment, where employees look forward to coming is equally important. “Our employees work best in collaborative, fun, and flexible work environments along with a healthy, clear and defined chain of command that is open and inclusive,” said Manghani. “Our employees work best in collaborative, fun, and flexible work environments along with a healthy, clear and defined chain-of-command that is open and inclusive.” Hires are becoming more diversified, said Mr Ghodpade, with Marriott recently looking into different markets such as the North East, and admitting people from different streams such as art and science majors, with no obvious background in hospitality management. “Our employees work best in collaborative, fun and flexible work environments along with a healthy, clear and defined chain-of- command.” Abinash Manghani CEO, WelcomHeritage WH Azora by Ayatana, Fort Kochi Mr Manghani admitted, that post the pandemic, retention strategies were a new challenge. However, innovation was key to tackling the crisis., from an organisational point of view as well as in terms of profitability. “Post-pandemic people prefer to work in flexi-hours, which is a great advantage for the hotel industry as they have shifts. Digital marketers, big data analysts, revenue managers and communication specialists are major roles that can innovate any hospitality brand beyond expected ROI’s.” Innovation to beat inflation The manpower crisis is linked to the rising costs of all commodities in the country. Even as rupee hits its lowest, making the country attractive for foreigners, the rising costs drives up the costs for a hotel. Rather than cost-cutting and reducing salaries of employees, Manghani pointed out several ways in which one can manage costs, including the use of technology to bring costs down. This has been a definite focus area for us and has significantly refined our processes that will lead to reduced costs. Manghani said, “Our collaboration with Onefinerate’s technology will enable us to take B2B (travel agents) booking on the brand website, a task which is currently done by our sales team, who regularly visits these agents adding to costs. Channel Manager helps manage inventory and rates across channels of all the hotels on a single platform. Online Reputation Management tool helps us to see/reply to all reviews on one platform apart from other features that the platform offers (competitor analysis, focus on weak areas at the hotel, etc). Online check-in makes things easier for our guests and the hotel team.” According to him, for an organization to continue thriving, it is important to evolve into a more tech driven organization and in accordance, support the tech-savvy talents, those who prefer to join organizations that are driven towards adapting latest technology and value creativity,” said Manghani. The Roseate Kush Kapoor CEO, Roseate Hotels & Resorts 40| L U X E B O O K | S E P T E MB E R 2 0 2 2 S E P T E MB E R 2 0 2 2 | L U X E B O O K |41