THE INTERVIEW : PRIYA PAUL
The pool at The Park in Goa , India
Guests are looking for an immediate solution and a more engaging experience with the brand that is beyond just product-level use .
H : What are the company ’ s biggest challenges right now ?
PP : Hospitality over the past five to seven years has come into its own in India . Tourism is now recognized by the government as a growth opportunity , and that can provide employment and income generation in rural areas . Until recently , it was looked at as elitist and not really needed , so the industry has been trying to get the government to understand it is part of the infrastructure growth , and it needs financial impetus to see it grow faster . That outlook has changed for the better , and it is good to see how we can push tourism forward .
Infrastructure issues still exist , and from an HR point of view , hospitality has traditionally not been an industry to enter . So it has been a challenge to get the right people to join the industry . Surprisingly , based on the number of people we have , it has been tough to get them to commit .
I am the new president of India ’ s chapter of the WTTC , and I am working with the government to put tourism even more firmly on the national agenda . It is starting to see how it can train and hire people , but it remains a
struggle to do so . It will be another five to seven years before we see the impact of these campaigns . H : Describe your management style . PP : I like working with teams and building teams , and I am also not afraid to make executive decisions when I have to . I can be formal when I need to be , and I am also quite stubborn about having my own way . Talk to some other people about that . H : How is it being a female leader in India ? PP : India was more of a place 25 years ago when I started where wisdom and age were important tools . Having said that , coming from ownership and a family structure , you get automatic respect . Of course , if you carry yourself properly , with authority and discipline , it helps cement your credibility . I never looked at myself professionally as being a woman . I was always encouraged to go and be the best and do everything . Nothing was closed to us . I never thought about how can I do this as a woman . It was never in my vocabulary , which comes from the way you are brought up . Being a woman has never been an issue .
H : What role does corporate social responsibility play in your company ?
PP : It is a huge element of doing business in India . Being a family business and in position to help communities has been quite central to my family . We have had a tradition of philanthropy in large and small ways . We just celebrated 100 years , and one way we celebrated was to complete 100 social initiatives over 18 months . That is a special commemoration but a continuation of what we have been doing . In hotels , a constant is to serve our communities .
H : What are the best lessons you have learned about the hotel business ?
PP : The business is about putting yourself into the customer ’ s shoes , and I think about that all the time , especially when using hotel services . How would you plan services better from the customer ’ s perspective ? Often I see hoteliers making the design so complex or service delivery so complex without seeing how a guest expects things to be done easier , without a mess or intrigue around it . That is fundamental to what one does . Having said that , I am the last person to survey customers about what they want , as it doesn ’ t work . H : What surprises you about the hotel business ?
PP : It is still a traditional hierarchical business , despite all the changes in the way the world moves . It doesn ’ t have flat structures . In that sense , it has not moved with the times . We try to encourage our teams to talk with each other , work across teams , and it helps break up hierarchy .
32 HOTELS January / February 2013 www . hotelsmag . com