Drawing inspiration from her family and colleagues, being a hotelier comes naturally to Ashima Sharma, general manager, Park Hyatt Chennai
BY R BARIK
Give us a short background of your industry journey.
The journey started with my sisters since they both worked with hotels. The nascent years in the industry were at Park Royal New Delhi, SPHC Group. I joined Hyatt in 1999 and those were the most formative years of a progressive journey with Hyatt, having joined the erstwhile Grand Hyatt Delhi as business development executive, and fast-tracking my trajectory of growth thereafter. In 2003, I joined the pre-opening team of Grand Hyatt Mumbai as director, catering and conventions, and after a little over two years, was entrusted with the role of director of rooms, a key milestone in my career.
To broaden my professional horizon, I moved to Grand Hyatt Shenzhen during the pre-opening phase as executive assistant manager, rooms, to open this flagship Grand Hyatt in China. My role encompassed driving recruitment; training and setting up operational standards. I returned to India in 2010, at Sofitel Mumbai BKC as hotel manager and then went on to rejoin the Hyatt family as GM of the vibrant Park Hyatt Chennai. With Hyatt I had several opportunities to support our pre-opening and opening teams at Hyatt Regency Kolkata, Park Hyatt Goa and Park Hyatt Saigon, Vietnam.
What have been some of the important lessons that you have learnt from your experiences?
The most important learnings for me out of my personal experiences have been:
When you share information and your knowledge, you grow.
In the middle of difficulties lie opportunities.
When there is a mountain ahead of you, take one step at a time and celebrate each step in that journey rather than worrying yourself about the miles that still lie ahead
People break away all boundaries and limitation to discover their limitless ability with just a little encouragement, genuine care and guidance. This is the most cherished reward of a leader.
When did you take charge as GM of this property? What are the changes that you have initiated?
It’s been only a couple of months since I joined as GM of Park Hyatt Chennai and it is an enhanced level of care, engagement and relationship building with colleagues at each opportunity, celebrating them every step of the way. The same rings true on our guest front, having greater insights on who our guests are, right from the time they first arrive, and delight and surprise them throughout their stay.
What is the best part of being a general manager?
It’s the people we work along with and the fact that you always find friends everywhere in the world. At Hyatt we genuinely believe in “Care for our people so that they can be their best and making a difference in the lives of those we touch every day”. With that we win great friendships for a lifetime with colleagues and guests.
How do you keep the morale of the team running high? How do you motivate them?
Teamwork and coaching our colleagues across levels in order for them to realise their dreams and aspirations, working along with them, truly nurturing their talents and coaching them when the need arises, is what I do to motivate. When you get colleagues thinking on what makes them enjoy their work, it is a quick realisation that it’s in these moments when they do something extraordinary; and the special interaction vs everyday transactions that drives them. I find this as an effective way to keep the team motivated. I encourage them to make sure they have been recognised once in seven days by either a guest or their supervisor or colleague for what they do well
What are the challenges that you face as the GM?
Keeping the millennials engaged is an industry wide challenge – there is a big shift in our focus towards them, be it in form of guests or employees. They are impacting attitudes and expectations across generations. Understanding the changing attitudes, buying behaviours, and travel habits of our customers, in order to best deliver a guest experience and engage with them is a challenge. All that, coupled with globalisation, easier accessibility in the world and cultural difference are all contributing to the shift we see in guest experience delivery. It is moving away from the traditional servitude and becoming more personalised, away from all barriers.
What are the revenue-enhancing strategies that you have adopted/introduced at the property?
Managing our business mix and pricing ourselves more confidently is the direction we are taking.
What are your favourite areas in the property?
At Park Hyatt Chennai, I love our Infinity-edge pool with sweeping views of the city and Antahpura Spa (Inner Sanctum). It is where I connect with nature for peace and calm, re-focus and begin my day.
Share some of your good/bad/weird guest experiences.
It has often so happened that I become like a family member for my team and that is the best one could wish for.
What has been the turning point in your career?
Moving from a being director of events and conventions to director of rooms at Grand Hyatt Mumbai was a turning point in my career. It isn’t a conventional career path and I didn’t think it would take the route it did in my journey until it happened. It was a great example of how Hyatt develops talent and expresses its true belief in ‘People being our principal asset.’ There is no charted route leading to success in this company. It is up to the person to navigate his/her way forward in the direction of their passion.
What according to you is the most important thing for success in the industry?
To absolutely love what you do, then it doesn’t seem like you’re doing a job but following your passion. It is a definitive recipe for success.
What are some of the positive changes in the industry in the last decade or so?
Globalisation, the growing millennial population, changing attitudes, buying behaviours, travel habits, an uprise of social platforms, mobile technology, the ease of access to people, information, products and places, all of these have positively transformed our industry and continue to do so.
What is the worst thing about being a hotelier?
This industry is for people who are passionate, and balancing work and family when you are passionate and love both is a tough task.
If not a hotelier, what would have been your second choice of career?
I would have been a life coach.
