At the 4th Indian Hospitality Awards and Summit 2019, panel discussion focussing on the topic which contemplated on the future of the hospitality industry and how market forces will shape the hospitality sector in the next five years was held.

AT THE 4th Indian Hospitality Awards and Summit 2019 organized by BW Hotelier held at Pullman Aerocity New Delhi, a panel discussion focussing on the topic which contemplated on the future of the hospitality industry and how market forces will shape the hospitality sector in the next five years.

The panel was moderated by Mandeep Lamba, President (South Asia), HVS Anarock who began by stating that the whole issue is about the talent in the industry. The students in the hotel management institute are more attracted to other and newer opportunities than pursuing a career in the hospitality business itself.

The esteemed panellists were Dilip Puri, Founder and CEO, Indian School of Hospitality, Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, The Lemon Tree Hotels, Rohit Khosla, Executive Vice President, North and West India, IHCL, Sanjay Sharma, Market Vice President, India, Nepal& Bhutan, Marriott International and Arindam Kunar, Vice President(Operations), Fortune Hotels.

Talking about the shift of hospitality students towards other businesses, Puri said, “If the high numbers of hospitality students choose not to work in the industry, it raises a question on the leaders. There is a need for introspection about this insularity among the young generation.”

The discussion was followed by another important aspect of hospitality, hiring. To Lamba’s question, Sanjay said, “In this industry, standards are what we are known for and experience that we can provide is always going to play a crucial role. And, hiring will serve all these purposes.”

Adding to it, Keswani said, “It is important to know what kind of people you want to hire. As people in the hospitality industry need to have an aptitude towards the way of handling people. In such a situation, the degrees don’t matter but the knowledge does. At Lemon Tree, we have recently hired acid attack survivors and transgenders. This might help them build confidence and self-esteem in themselves.”

Summing up the discussion, Kumar said, “ It is important for us to understand the needs of the workforce. When they compare their work with other businesses, it makes them impatient in terms of growth and it is we, who can change their outlook towards this industry.”