A seasoned hospitality professional with over 20 years of experience, Monica Suri Began her career as Hotel Operations Management trainee an F&B services at Taj Hotels and subsequently climbed the ladder by working with various renowned hotels across international chains such as Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International, and Balioni Resort Maldives. She has also served the position of General Manager of Atmosphere Hotels and Resorts, Maldives.
At Baglioni Resort Maldives, she has been avid participant in the various aspects of hotel operations and services. She has also been actively involved in the management of destination properties and repositioned them amidst the hospitality stalwarts internationally. She is well known for creating experiences that transforms hospitality into celebration for guests. Moreover, She loves to experience and explore distinct tourist attractions of the world and takes a learning lesson from each travel.
Today with us, She shares a candid conversation about her GM learnings, Baglioni Resort Maldives practices, sustainability, travel trends, and her perspective on the current hospitality industry.
1. What are the GM learnings do you bring to this resort?
In the last 20 years of being in the industry, I have learnt that our industry embraces people who care for human connections from all walks of life. Being the guardian of the place, I believe, a GM cannot run the resort from the desk. As the GM, I have the opportunity to make a difference in our guests’ and teams’ experiences each day. I gather my inspiration from my guests and teams every day by walking around the resort, welcoming and seeing off guests, and understanding how we can make their experience better.
The willingness to try different things that may be outside of my comfort zone has helped me to bring a new perspective to this resort. I believe, at the helm of the ship, one has to remain like calm waters hence mindfulness is very important for leaders and spending a few moments to meditate and connect with my core every day has made a big difference on how I look at my job.
2. How has your journey at Baglioni Resort Maldives been so far?
I joined the Italian family-Baglioni six months ago and it has already made a difference to my learning curve. I can correlate my own values with the culture at Baglioni Hotels and after many years of experience, it is great to work at a place where I can be myself. It carries a cosy family atmosphere which is very rooted like my own culture back at home in India.
3. Can you give us a brief on the importance of the Indian market for Maldives’ tourism?
The Maldives as a destination highly relies on inbound international travellers, as domestic travel is almost negligible. Owing to this fact, the Maldives was the first destination to open for international travellers during the pandemic. As per the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives, India was the largest source of tourists to Maldives in 2021, accounting for 22.1 per cent of all arrivals.
Since the beginning of 2022, we have been witnessing a strong uptick in travel to Maldives due to increased demand for travel to closer-to-home and easy visa destinations. Being confined to one’s home has left many wanting to break free and savour the travel experiences that they once cherished. In today’s world, couples and families alike are choosing peaceful getaway destinations with easy itineraries to recuperate from the mayhem.
4. What are the sustainable practices followed by the hotel?
The Maldives is mindful of how intricately climate change is linked to marine life, ocean ecosystems, and plastic and waste management. Therefore, at Baglioni Resort Maldives, our pivotal goal has been to adopt initiatives that are aimed at reducing our carbon footprint.
The team of marine biologists at Baglioni Resort Maldives work to grow endangered species of corals to boost existing reef habitats and generate new ones. Coral reefs cover less than 0.1% of the whole ocean surface but they support one-third of all marine species. Coral reefs are not only a critical habitat for numerous species but also provide essential ecosystem services upon which millions of people depend.
At Baglioni Resort Maldives, we actively restore coral using different techniques or methods that raise as many coral species as possible, both fast and slow growing species. We also provide the opportunity to our guests to either adopt a coral fragment or sponsor a coral frame with a personalized tag.
To run our resort with efficiency, we have cut down on the use of plastic water bottles, trying to maximize our recycling options with an internal waste reduction plan, and we are actively reducing paper usage in any check-in/out procedure and in our daily office activities. In terms of energy conservation, we minimize energy consumption using LED and sensor lights, monitor hot water thermostats’ temperature and cut down the energy production on runoff time. Our rooms are furnished sustainably with organic amenities. In order to manage food waste effectively, we reduce food waste by suggesting the best quantity of food to our guests, composting leftover food waste, and donating unused products to local communities.
Our staff is eco-friendly, and employees in each department participate in a ‘green team’, a committee that suggests the best eco-friendly practices in their specific department.
We have also partnered with Green Globe, a leading global organization for a Sustainable Tourism Certification (Green Globe). In the next few years, we plan to invest in green infrastructures at the property such as solar panels, bio-gas system, and hydroponic farming.
5. What sets Baglioni Resort Maldives apart from the other resorts in Maldives?
While the Maldives has primarily been deemed as a romantic destination, Baglioni Resort Maldives offers a complete package to families, honeymoon couples and solo travellers alike, with the touch of Italian hospitality. Depending on the kind of experience that guests are looking for, we curate an itinerary that ranges from water sports for adventure-seekers, cookery lessons for culinary enthusiasts, movie sessions under the stars for a romantic evening for couples, to sunset and sunrise yoga sessions for guests seeking mindfulness.
The property is awash with tropical natural beauty, on a barefoot island with a 360-degree swimming lagoon accommodating our in-house reef and an unobstructed view of the Indian Ocean. Situated on the island of Maagau gives us the benefit to offer the experience of diving and spotting schools of eagle rays, turtles, and sharks to our guests.
Surrounded by tropical nature, turquoise waters, and velvet-smooth white sands, accommodations at the resort are created with typical Italian attention to detail, using materials and design techniques for optimum sustainability while making the most of the natural setting and its all-embracing beauty. Also, the resort’s three bed-room presidential suite is one of the largest in the Maldives.
6. What are the current travel trends and future roadmap of the industry?
We have been observing a rise in multigenerational travel, which is the trend of people from all age groups accompanying each other on trips. As many families stayed apart due to COVID-19, travellers are returning to the embrace of their families and undertaking vacations together.
Many travellers are now becoming conscious of travelling sustainably. As the climate and ecological crisis deepen day by day, travellers are increasingly seeking destinations and properties that have minimized impact on the local cultural environment.
7. Where do you see yourself taking Baglioni Resort Maldives in the next 2-3 years?
Baglioni Maldives has a great potential to offer true luxury to travellers. I believe that a “luxury experience” is not necessarily related to price and glamor but more relevant to how it makes the guest feel. As the definition of luxury is different for different guest. The underwater life at this natural island is mesmerizing. While the pandemic was a setback to the resort as it had to shut doors as soon it opened, we have had to face several challenges to establish the brand in the Maldives ever since the market bounced back.
In the times to come, we would like to welcome many more nationalities than our current mix at the resort. We are working on expanding our reach to global guests and provide immersive experiences to them. As we have seen a huge surge in family travel post pandemic, we are looking forward to providing our guests with holistic experiences and a piece of education which is more than just a good holiday.
8. Two things you would like to change/modify in the hospitality industry?
In the past decade, there has been an over-use of technology in the hospitality industry. To keep this in check, at our resort we try to keep everything natural, raw, and more connected with nature. We encourage our guests to walk barefoot, create opportunities through our activities for them to indulge in sunrise and sunsets, plant corals, go on reef explorations with our marine biologist, back of the house tour, and local village tour to name a few. I believe that optimum use of technology can make guests feel more relaxed.
In addition to this, sustainable travel should take higher precedence at properties. The World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2030 the international flow of tourists will exceed 1.8 billion. Globalization of our industry and over-tourism in some destinations somehow tends to affect the local community and preserving the natural beauty of the destination gets challenging. As an Italian brand, we take great pride in delivering Italian grace, and are equally mindful of collaborating with local communities to provide authentic Maldivian experiences to our guests. We develop and promote experiences that benefit both tourists and residents such as local island tours, local food tours, Maldivian cooking classes, Local art exhibitions etc. Educating travellers about being more responsible while travelling is an essential aspect that every resort in pristine locations must look into.
