Athithi Devo Bhava – Living the Tradition

Athithi Devo Bhava – Living the Tradition

Anupam Jain

Anuradha Sultane

Wasim Abdurahiman

IInd Year, PGDM

About the Author

Andrew Hendrian, General Manager, The Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore, is a seasoned hotelier with more than 25 years of hospitality experience. Hendrian took over the management of The Leela’s flagship property in the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India very recently.

Hendrian was the General Manager at Hyatt Regency Dubai where he successfully repositioned the newly refurbished hotel. Prior to that, from 2002 to 2004, he was General Manager at the Hyatt Regency Cologne and Resident Manager of the Grand Hyatt Dubai. He served as Resident Manager of the Grand Hyatt Berlin from 2000 to 2002.

Beginning his career with the Meliá Group, Hendrian sharpened his skills at properties in Spain and Iraq. He went on to establish himself as one of the hospitality industry’s rising stars.
Moving to Hyatt Hotels, he enhanced his experience as a food and beverage manager and sommelier. Later he underwent special Rooms Division training in the U.S., eventually becoming Regional Specialist, Rooms for Central Europe during which time Hyatt received several awards. After close to three decades at some of the industry’s leading flagship properties, Hendrian has earned the title of the ‘People’s Manager’ for his ability to connect and relate to his associates and staff.

Close Encounters

Q: It has only been a few months since you joined the Leela Kempinski, Bangalore. Do you find the Hospitality Industry in India any different from that of the other countries you have worked in?

A: It is difficult to make a direct comparison. I think India has one big advantage; Indians, by nature, are warm and like to smile! They are generally warm people when compared to the Europeans or Americans. Sometimes you can have the best of hotels but if the ‘software’, which is the staff, doesn’t work, we don’t feel comfortable. Having said that, there are a couple of obstacles which I think, we shall overcome with time. Then we can also reach the efficiency levels of Europe.

This must also have something to do with the population and also the mentality. For instance, here you have a server or a waiter. Then you have a Senior Waiter and then a Head Waiter and so on. While in Europe, there is just a waiter. He would be the Head Waiter and the cashier; and he would do everything. This in turn increases efficiency. But in India, that is not the case. For instance, I know a hotel in Bangalore, with around 1300 staff for 360 rooms. I had a similar hotel in Berlin and I ran that hotel with 400 people; i.e. around one-third the number of people. And regarding the service, I can say without a doubt, that it was equally good or better.

Q: The economic downturn has seen the worst of almost every industry; and there's a general feeling that the hotel industry is among the worst hit. Is this really true? What measures could be taken to curb the effects of recession?

A: Yes, everyone has been affected; that is very true. But is the hotel industry the worst affected? I would say, “No”. The revenues are down by around 40%; but the good news is that travel is happening. So having said that travel is happening, why is business down? Before, people like Michael Dell would stay in a suite and pay $1,000 a night; today he would stay in a standard room and pay Rs.10, 000 a night! If you were to go in an airline today, you would see that the business class and first class are empty. People have to travel and they do; but they are cutting down on luxury. So people stay in my hotel but they don’t stay in the premium rooms.

Take consumer goods, for example.  Earlier, if I had a TV, I would say, “Why don’t we buy an LCD TV?” But today I would say, “Do I really need it? What I have is good enough. It’s not as sleek as as an LCD, but I think we can live with this for another year”. That's where we are suffering.

Compared to the rest of the world, I think we are still doing very well, because in the past we were spoilt with astronomical rates; in Bangalore at least. We used to sell rooms at $600 a night and I never dreamt of selling it even for $400. There was no supply and lots of demand. Now it has come down to realistic levels of $200.Yes, we are affected compared to last year, but it’s that not bad.

You have to adjust to the market conditions. In times of the $600 rates, we had lost a lot of customers, who probably we didn't even want. Not because we were arrogant, but there was a price point, and we said, "ABC can pay $600, so you can come and stay with us”. Whereas XYZ cannot afford, so he typically went to the Oberoi or Taj or elsewhere. Today we are going and talking to those clients, who were not in a position to pay $600 then.  And to increase and acquire new business we are saying, “In those times we couldn’t sell it at those rates; but today times have changed and we can probably talk and negotiate". And so we have got some clients back who were not willing to pay $600, but were ready to pay $300.

Q: What are some of the challenges in attaining and maintaining global leadership in the hospitality industry?

A: The biggest problem with success is you have to keep on being a success. You attain success when the customer says the product is good. How do you achieve that? You have to have processes in place – starting from training of the staff to your philosophy; and even your standards. You have to give resources to your staff and tell them the standards. Say, when a lady comes in, she should be seated. Within three minutes of her being seated, she should get a glass of water. Within seven minutes, the menu should be there. Within 10 minutes, you have to take the order; and within 15 minutes, the first order should be delivered.

So there are certain processes in place that have to be consistently delivered; and that is where the training comes in. I can of course instruct you, but we are all human beings. We forget and that is why there is somebody there to remind you. As I always say, the oldest reminder in the world was a church! Hundreds of years ago they used to ring the bell because people did not have watches. Today every Tom, Dick and Harry has a watch. So also in our business, there has to be someone who consistently follows up on training and reminds the staff how to do things right.   

Q: What differentiates the Leela Palace from other hotels?

A: We believe in the philosophy Athithi Devo Bhava, which means ‘the Guest is God’, in Sanskrit. We place him first and foremost; we do service with the heart! We genuinely believe in his well being. When a guest comes to stay with us, he could be there to finish an appointment or do a job. And the last thing he would want is a problem in his hotel room – be it the food or air-conditioning. So you make sure that all these critical points are handled efficiently; from the moment he enters the hotel, where someone opens the door for him, to checking him in and taking him to his room.

I’ll give you an example. Suppose after a 10-hour long flight from Paris or Frankfurt, you check into a hotel. It could be 4 o’ clock in the morning and then they give you a room key and say ‘343’. The first thing you look for is the lift, but you don’t know where it is. When you are in an unfamiliar place even if you did walk past the lift, you might not have realized it; and you are still wondering ‘Where is the lift!’ After a lot of effort you finally manage to find the lift. You reach your room. And when you try to open your door, it doesn’t open! This is a pre-programmed disaster. Now you are in the fifth floor and you have to walk all the way back, go down in the lift and tell the receptionist the problem. So what we do at the Leela is we check him in, escort him and take him up to his room. We also show him where the fire exit is, in case of a fire or terrorist attack; nowadays it is essential as people tend to panic.

So the small details make a difference. Like collecting preferences of some people you know. For instance, some prefer staying in the same room every time they visit because they like that room for some reason. Maybe there’s a corner there where they would like to sit and read a book. Then there might be preferences in the restaurants – the kind of breakfast they would like to have or something they are allergic to. So these are the things they would want us to know without us asking them each time; and that’s what we do.

Maybe other hotels also do the same things and I don’t have any reason to believe that they don’t; but when you do it from your heart and genuinely believe in it, it makes an impact. The consistency is also very important. It shouldn’t be that sometimes it’s there and sometimes it’s not. So when you consistently do this, it would differentiate you from others.

Q: Nowadays, any business offering is based on customer experience. With the increasing power of customer bargaining, how do you live up to their expectations?

A: It is not the free goodies that you give. That has become a standard; you put some fruits, you put some cookies and a coffee-making facility. That is there in every hotel. I think it is consistently sharing the values of the customer and giving him recognition. The customer should feel, ‘They know who I am! They know me’. When you are on a date and you go to this restaurant and the manager says, “Hey Anupam! Good to have you back. You want to have your usual drink?” You would feel proud – ‘My girlfriend is impressed!’

Q: Most of the developing economies are in a rapid transit towards becoming ‘service economies’. And therefore, competitiveness of the service sector is emerging as a crucial factor influencing the overall competitiveness of a country. Where do you position India in this race?

A: India has the biggest potential as far as I can see, because what used to be our disadvantage years ago i.e. our population is today becoming our advantage; with all the young, literate people doing management related courses now. If we get the infrastructure right, India has the potential compared to China.  All of us speak fluent English. Have you ever been to China? I have been to Shanghai and Beijing. If you don’t have someone with you who speaks Chinese, then you are lost! This is in Beijing and Shanghai – the capital and commercial capital – like Delhi and Mumbai. I am sure in Delhi and Mumbai you can get away with English; so India does have great potential and that’s why I am here!

Q: Being a seasoned veteran from the industry, what would your advice be for the budding management graduates of SDM IMD?

A: There needs to be a genuine interest in employees’ growth. To get there, you first need to know them. Unfortunately, what I have observed ever since I came to India, in the last four months, is the hierarchy. The manager, the rank and file and the front-level staff are still afar. When I used to work at the Taj in 1981, I never saw the General Manager for around six months. I was just in the lower ranks and never got to see this guy! So I decided that one day if I ever become an executive, I would see each and every employee.

When I became the General Manager in Berlin, I spent the first four months meeting employees. I called every employee into my cabin and spoke to them for an hour each; just to get to know them. I think if we really invest in them, our employees are the core asset on the balance sheet! So if you believe in your people, you can help them grow. I learnt a lot from my people. They used to come up with brilliant ideas. You have to feel what they feel; that’s when you can help them and that’s when you have the team spirit. If you act as the Big Sahab, maybe things work; but differently!