Hospitality Attitude

Hospitality is much more than a simple welcome or an offer of food or drink. It is an attitude that opens us to others and receives them on their own terms. In other words, what we know as anticipation of others needs, in this case the guest needs!

Attitude is evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people or events. Attitude generally has two components figuratively speaking. Affective component could be emotional or a feeling segment of an attitude whereas Behavioral component is an intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or something.

It is easy to train someone to do a job but it's extremely difficult to train someone with a poor attitude. One needs to work on the attitude first, if that's right anything can be done and achieved with great success.

The key  is to paying attention. We need to get out of ourselves and become interested in the expectations of others. I have been a part of the hospitality industry for over two decades and I feel its not just your physical assets such as the building and other tangibles that are important in the success of the organisation but its the attitude and qualities that the employees possess and display.

Lets look at what makes a great hospitality attitude. It is extremely simple, doing things from the heart and having certain basic qualities and personality traits.

Willingness to serve

The employees should possess and display readiness to serve others. Customers here are referred to as guests and guests need that special attention.

Physical Fitness

The job is demanding with long hours of work, working in shifts or involving a lot of physical work. If not that then it could be standing for long hours.
Grooming standards
A pleasing personality with well groomed appearance makes an employee the perfect hospitality professional.  

Guest is always right! ....A guest is a guest is a guest!

A guest is a guest, lets not look at whether he is right or not. Hotels place a very high priority to guest satisfaction. Now that has moved a notch higher to guest delight or creating that dazzle.

Personal  and  Professional ethics

Ethics are your sense of right and wrong. Morals and values that define how you are as a person are your personal ethics. How you behave and conform to the rules in a professional setting are  your  professional ethics. One must maintain the dignity of each domain.

Integrity

The employees should be honest and have strong moral principles as they deal with both hotel assets as well as guest valuables.

Diplomacy

The employees should be sensitive in dealing with others and they must achieve peaceful resolutions in guest interactions. If not a solution, it must at least facilitate discussions.

Communication Skills

The most successful in the hospitality business are those with excellent communication skills. They can communicate effectively both verbally and in writing also displaying positive body language always.

Computer knowledge

A great hospitality employee should have good computer skills and should be familiar with a wide range of technological applications that are used in the industry.

Knowledge of Safety and Hygiene 

Employees should be  familiar with rules of safety and hygiene as they apply to kitchens, restaurants and other places where guests spend time

Interpersonal skills

The very nature of the business is to provide immaculate customer service, the base for the same being one's interpersonal skills.
Leadership
The employees must have strong leadership quality and the ability to take charge that contributes to an organization's overall success.

Loyalty and Commitment

One must be loyal to the organisation and also do whatever it takes to keep customers happy. That's the key to creating repeat business and important for any industry not just hospitality.

Multi tasking
To stay focused , the employee should be organized and multitask with efficiency. They must be thorough in their work and realize that any oversight could result in customer dissatisfaction or loss of business.

Enthusiasm

Great employees are enthusiastic about their jobs and they strive to do their best at every interaction. They give their customers the best service available and create that WOW experience every time!

Teamwork 

Every employee needs be a team player. No one can succeed alone in a people dominated industry. Everyone's contribution counts. 

Anyone who wants to build a successful career in the hospitality industry, this could be your guide to what it takes to be there and all those who are already working as professionals can use this as their checklist!
I believe that education is the forming of impressions on the soul.

Picture courtesy: Apeejay Institute of Hospitlality

A stitch in time saves nine

I would like to share with you all my column in the Navi Mumbai City Line, 30th May 2015.

College admissions are on and a lot of students walk in shopping for courses and colleges. Yes the word is shopping! There is certainly some clarity with the courses one can take up after the results are declared. Some have a clear eligibility and cut off marks. Probably some of you are not really happy with your result but when you can’t change that at this stage what you can certainly do is find the best option for you. Things were different when we were growing up, completing 12^th standard 21 years ago is a long time indeed and a lot has changed since then.

Things have certainly changed for the good; I believe in, “we change with changing seasons and times”. Here, not referring to the basic value system, morals and ethics but changing lifestyle. The earlier generations didn’t have so much of competition in the board exams now the toppers manage scores as high as 99 point some percentage. But the good news is that there are so many streams of study and professional courses on offer. The information is available just at the click of a button on the computer. Isn’t this fantastic?

But what I have experienced when counseling students is that when there is so much to choose from they get confused and sometimes don’t make good decisions. For example they might choose a course in Mass media or a branch of engineering as they meet the eligibility criteria and the courses are considered to be very much “In” or “Happening” among their peer group. Once they are in the programme they realize that it isn’t what they wanted or are able to cope with. Sometimes they get ATKTs.  A student who has been good all through school faring badly in college affects their confidence and self esteem. Then they look out for some other professional courses that they think they can do well in. This leads to loss of a year, some finance and also their self confidence. Some find it difficult to bounce back.

To avoid this situation, parents and students can do some research. In fact it’s a good trend that students these days meet education counselors, consult their teachers and also attend education fairs and career guidance seminars. These things help them choose what they believe is their calling. With so many colleges and seats available, it’s not very difficult to get into a professional course. Hence it’s extremely important to make a decision that’s practical, to one liking and based on good research.

The conventional streams, B Sc, B Com and BA are offered by most universities. There are professional courses such as Medicine, Engineering, Hotel Management, Hospitality Studies, BMS, Journalism, Fashion Designing, Aviation, Travel and Tourism, Shipping, Animation and  Film making to name a few. A student who has completed his 12^th standard can find out more about the course of his choice and then select a good college to join that offers the programme.

One’s success is more based on making good decisions than just being brilliant and doing things without thought!

Beating the gender stereotypes!

I did talk about my column right? after sharing the maiden post here is the second one.

In my second write up, I wish to deliberate on the same topic as the last one, the hospitality industry and the careers that it offers. As this is the time of the year when the high school graduates are thinking of getting into different streams of studies and dreaming of building successful careers ahead. I thought of sharing with my readers a very important concern that comes up during my counselling sessions- gender stereotypes! Not that I am a feminist who shouts from the rooftop, but when it comes to dealing with concerned parents of youngsters who are thinking of venturing into a career in the hospitality industry I get asked often how the industry was for the girls.

I am a girl, of course a lady now! Have been in the industry, for almost 18 years. Studied in a hospitality college where the boys to girls ratio was 7:1 (most professional courses show this kind of ratio), a hosteller while there, done my intern ship of 6 months in the second year of college. I have worked in the hotel operations for the first 4 years of my career before getting into academics and after 6 years of that, I am back having one foot in the operations and the other in teaching, learning and development. I haven’t experienced any bias anywhere and the industry is very safe to work in. In fact hotels take great care of their women team members. Within the hotel, which is a 24 hours operation it’s absolute as safe as one’s own home. Women also need to work in shifts but shifts are followed in such a manner that they change at convenient hours such as the afternoon shift getting over at 9 pm. If a shift gets over after 10 pm then the ladies are given a home drop in the hotel car.

In today’s’ day and time most professions work round the clock so employees need to adapt to the  shifts concept, be it a hospital, a hyper mall or a petrol pump. These places are also safe for women to work.

The opportunities that the hotel industry offers are one of the best. Initially they may not be the best paying but in the due course they are also equally challenging and rewarding. In fact the merits are many such as working anywhere in the world, experiencing the product and holiday plans with family being some of them.

Hospitality comes naturally to women, so making a career in the industry can be utilizing their strengths to the core. They also make great managers just like men. In my own experience I have felt the privilege of being a woman at my work place. There is respect, caring and the challenge of walking shoulder to shoulder with the men.

Gender equity is the concept to follow and not gender bias! So hop on and get to know more about the hospitality industry and the career it offers, it’s your passport to the world.

With the idea of attracting the people with the right attitude and make informed decision about studying Hospitality Management or taking up careers in the industry, The Apeejay Institute of Hospitality has organized a free experiential workshop at its campus every Wednesday. Students can enroll in this work shop and experience a feel of the industry as well as get counseling from the experts.

The readers are welcome to send in their queries at connect@aih.edu.in , we’ll try our best to address each one of them. Work shop Contact No. 9987178045

Will have my columns posted here on my blog too! What do you think of it?

Careers in the Hospitality Industry

A local newspaper approached me to write a column in their supplement. Now this was an offer that I couldn't resist simply for the love of sharing my thoughts with  people. The thoughts of hospitality as a career as I still feel people in India, in this city need to know it better. This is the first column that I wrote for the supplement.

The Hospitality and Tourism industry offers careers that are dynamic, challenging, thrilling and vibrant in 

nature. The industry offers many opportunities to the people with the right skills set. A recent study by the World Travel & Tourism Council shows that the hospitality industry is the largest employer worldwide hiring 1 in 12 workers, and this number is set to grow with the continued expansion and growth of the sector.

Welcome to this column, where we will be sharing some insights of the industry and also discuss careers. The industry is not really understood well by the masses. Most of them associate it with glamour but there’s a lot of hard work, discipline and the love to serve others that goes hand in hand. Hospitality is all about doing things that come from the heart, manage events and create memorable experiences for the guests. 

Being in the industry for almost two decades and counselling parents and students over the years, I have felt that it is extremely important for the students to know how the hotels operate and what career paths will be available to them. 

Most of the students who want to join the industry have seen a celebrity chef and think that’s what their life would be. There are so many career options apart from being a Chef. The hotel’s core departments are Front office, Housekeeping, Food and Beverage Service and Food Production and Patisserie. A hotel management graduate can work in any of these departments or choose to make a career in Sales and Marketing or Learning and Development after getting some experience in the operational departments. One can go on to become the General Manager or even MD or CEO of a Hospitality company. The ones who are inclined towards teaching can go for higher studies after their graduation and can even earn a PhD. If one dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur, then he or she can start a business be it a restaurant or a facilities company.

With the idea of attracting the people with the right attitude and make informed decision about studying Hospitality Management or taking up careers in the industry, The Apeejay Institute of Hospitality has organized a free experiential workshop at its campus every Wednesday. Students can enroll in this work shop and experience a feel of the industry as well as get counselling from the experts.

The readers are welcome to send in their queries at connect@aih.edu.in , we’ll try our best to address each one of them.

Laxmi Todiwan,

Associate Professor, HOD

Apeejay Institute of Hospitality, Navi Mumbai 

No 1, Sector 10 CBD Belapur,  Navi Mumbai  400 614 

T +91 22  2758 9050    6758 9050   Work shop Contact No. 9987178045

Anything first is always very special. This article will remain special to me.