Exclusive Interview | Saurabh Thakur, General Manager, Radisson Jodhpur
/“When you are at an entry level, you have to be skilful, passionate & hard working.
When you become HOD, you must know how to manage your colleagues, juniors, and your bosses.
However, when you reach the GM level, I think common sense plays a vital role more than skills. It is because if you reach this level, you already have skills, but common sense is not so common. This will make you different.”
Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
Studied at IIHM Kolkata and did degree of B. A in hospitality management from Q.M.U.C Edinburgh, Scotland. Started as a management trainee with Hyatt Group of Hotels. I successfully progressed to the role of Assistant Restaurant Manager at Hyatt Regency Delhi, where I gained valuable experience in managing the food and beverage operations of this iconic hotel. I visited Shanghai and Dongguan in China for a cross exposure to learn new food and beverage concepts. Opened the "The China kitchen” and Hyatt Cafe at Hyatt Regency Delhi which won many awards worldwide.
After my time at Hyatt, I moved on to Hilton Janak Puri, where I was promoted to the role of Restaurant Manager. This role involved the opening of The Chynna Gold and Executive Lounge and positioned the same high in West Delhi. Won awards as well for successfully opening and was moved to handle massive Banquets operations doing revenue of 25 cr. annually.
After that, I joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc at Westin Gurgaon, where I manage EEST- A Pan - Asian restaurant, Mix Bar and Lounge after that I was promoted to manager of Seasonal Tastes/ Daily Treats and IRD. Later that I was promoted to Manager of Banquet Operations, overseeing the banquet operations and Sales of the hotel.
After my stint at Westin Gurgaon, I was promoted to the role of Food and Beverage Manager at Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park ( First Aloft of Asia Pacific, one of the young & savvy brands ), where I was responsible for managing the food and beverage operations of the hotel. Won runners-up award for excellence in Food and Beverage from Marriott International.
I was later promoted to the role of Pre Opening Director of Food and Beverage at the Sheraton Grand Whitefield Bengaluru Hotel and Convention Centre ( 100th Marriott hotel in India ) where I opened 6 restaurants/ 2 Bars with 68,000 sq. ft. banqueting including a convention center. I also won “Best F&B Manager of India” by Good Food Awards.
My skills and experience continued to impress my employers, and I was promoted to the role of Acting General Manager at JW Chandigarh. This role involved overseeing the day-to-day operations of the hotel and managing the staff.
My next promotion was to the role of General Manager- Pre Opening of the 100th Radisson Hotel in India “Radisson Bhopal”. In this role, I was responsible for overseeing the entire pre-opening process of the hotel, from planning to execution. I won the “Center of Excellence” award for the “Best Pre-opening Gm Hotel Award” out of 21 Radisson which was opened that year.
My career continued to flourish, and I was promoted to the role of Cluster General Manager at Radisson Blu Kaushambi and Radisson Blu Towers which included 10 Grand Banquet Ballrooms, 367 keys. It was a MICE Hotel where we hosted grand events from ITPO/Noida Expo, Corporates/LNR from Noida/Delhi/ NCR. I was responsible for delivering a topline of 160 cr. annually for this hotel.
Finally, in 2022 I was appointed as the General Manager of Radisson Jodhpur, where I am responsible for overseeing all aspects of the hotel's operations, from managing staff to developing and implementing strategies to increase revenue and profitability while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. In 2023 Q1 we were on Top of our guest scores which are measured by GRI, CQI, and GSS- South Asia. In 2023 We gave the highest Q1 revenue with the highest RevPar. We made our presence in SATTE, JHARA, TTF Bangalore, and TTF Gujarat to capture the leisure market while maintaining relationships with all market-leading travel agents and still continue to drive excellence.
What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
When you are at an entry level, you have to be skilful, passionate & hard working. When you start growing, you have to develop leadership skills as in every profession, we have to keep learning. It's a never-ending process. When you become HOD, you must know how to manage your colleagues, juniors, and your bosses. However, when you reach the GM level, I think common sense plays a vital role more than skills. It is because if you reach this level, you already have skills, but common sense is not so common. This will make you different.
What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?
I always hire people with the right quality, not with specific experience. People who are smarter than me are what I look for. Is he/she passionate about their work? Whether that person wants to learn something new or not. I always observe that a person should not work for money or a position, but he/she must have a hunger to learn & grow. Whenever I hire someone, I review their background and find how long the candidate stays in his/her previous organization, as, in my opinion, this defines the loyalty of the individual.
For sure, knowledge is important, but we have to understand the attitude of the individual towards life matters the most. If the person is attentive, loyal, and has the will to learn, we will train them according to the requirements of the particular market. Apart from this, they should be sassy/savvy in their personal lifes which eventually will impact their professional life.
What advice would you give to a young, aspiring hotelier for their internship?
To be honest, in your initial days, the industry can be tough for you. It is because you are starting from scratch, but if you survive for 3-4 years, it will surely show you the results. However, you have to work very hard. Many of the freshers can’t survive the industry in their initial days and change their profession. For success, you have to stand out and market work.
What is the one tech/app/software feature you would like to see?
I would like to see an app for operations where I can check every department follow-up & work list. Where I can audit the task of a concerned department, like - how many tasks are completed and left percentage-wise.
For guests, I would like to see the app where guests scan/go through the link and can see every service/offering of the property.
What is your favourite interview question and why?
What is your 3 biggest achievement & why? Because this question will tell you how much this person is capable of.
