Personality Plus

Some interviews leave a lasting impact on the interviewer. This was one such experience. Try as we might to be impersonal and detached, Mr.Raj’s insightful views left us wondering about the depth of the man.
For a person forever on the move, the CMW was gracious enough to pause a while and gives us his candid responses, which made for an altogether delightful interview.

What is a typical day like for someone in this position?
My typical day is extremely busy. I go to the gym at least three days a week. Then, I either have a business breakfast or my favorite television show, and read newspapers in an effort to keep on top of happenings that can affect the business. Then, it's spending time at my hotels and in meetings concerning business strategy, financial planning, sales management, marketing, branding, invention, development, raising finance, business growth, business development, negotiations, and presentations which go on till late. Some time is also factored for changing the mind-set of our employees. These are great people, but they constantly need to learn what guests expect today, not relying on what we know they wanted twenty years ago. I think we're doing a good job of adapting, but it is something I am continually thinking about.

What are some of the key issues affecting customer satisfaction and retention in the hospitality industry today?
Employees are vital for enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty in service organizations because their proactive involvement is an essential part of delivering the services offered. Increasing occupancy rates and revenue by improving customer experience is the aim of modern hospitality organizations. To achieve these results, our people need to have a deep knowledge of Guest needs, behavior, and preferences and be aware of the ways in which the services delivered create value for the customers and then stimulate their retention and loyalty.
Understanding the customer is among the top five challenges for us. Obtaining precise customer information is crucial for us to fulfill their requirements, to foster innovative and tailor-made services, and develop targeted marketing strategies, the final goal being to acquire and retain valuable customers.
Each interaction with the customer either builds or erodes value in the relationship and then impacts future contacts, depending on the information and
behavioral insight hotel organizations gain during the process and the ability to translate it into a coherent response.

Customer expectations from hospitality industry seem to be rising all the time. What are the kinds of conveniences and innovations that will be required in the future?
Generally, hotel and restaurant operations are often pro-active in formulating their own standards designed to meet their customers' expectations. Anticipating, meeting (and even exceeding) customer expectations is the art of all successful hospitality businesses. Just what these expectations are varies considerably from country to country, from culture to culture and from customer to customer. Each traveler can wear more than one hat on the same trip - a demanding time-pressed business traveler during the week can turn into a carefree but cost-conscious leisure traveler on the weekend. All in all, a stay at the hotel will indeed be a royal experience .
All these expectations will be met through efficient operations that offer the greatest convenience, the best quality and most attractive proposition.
For example, service requests need to be dealt with quickly. Also, for long term business, the lifelong relationship with the customer needs to be managed. This takes an integrated solution that removes the need for manual effort, and can manage the different interaction points, such as the hotel store, bar, beauty saloon and front desk in one holistic manner.
Currently, at many hotels, all these are managed using disparate systems, which increases the chances of manual errors, and also increases costs. The key is to have integrated solutions and increased efficiency, which helps to ensure customer loyalty.
For example, let us imagine a chain of hotels, with 2 or 3 properties in the same city. If you stay at one hotel, then decide to move to another property of the same chain and in the same city, when you check in, you expect to get the benefit of the loyalty points that you just earned.
In hospitality, the future will belong to the most innovative players who can manage operations smoothly and effectively. Technology will be the vital cog towards making this happen.

What does the new age guest expect from a hotel in terms of convenience, and how does the Ramee Group match up to these expectations?
Everybody expects a comfortable bed, good shower, color TV with umpteen channels and internet access. Business travelers want more recognition and more control; the hotel bedroom has become a command center, not so much a home away from home as an office from home.
The key today is flexibility, allowing them to control their environment through technology, allowing them to create a true home from home. But certain old fashioned traits like personalized service, for instance, will endure.

Where would you like to see the Ramee Group in 5 years' time in India?
We are aggressively expanding and plan to add at least ten more hotels. This synchronizes with the growing demand for rooms in the mid market segment where the Ramee Group have established themselves. All our hotels are competitively priced offering high quality facilities. We undoubtedly provide true value for money and are strong in the city hotel segments.
The company has a very healthy growth model and is keenly looking for more hotel properties in the Gulf Region, India, Eastern Europe and UK. We are currently in negotiations with hotel and serviced apartment properties in these countries to achieve our growth plans. We will also branch out into stand-alone innovative restaurant concepts and an industrial catering division in the near future.
In the highly segmented hotel market that exists today, a company must know its position to successfully distinguish itself from a wide array of competitors. And, it must have a clear, focused vision of its future. As a company, our values, our personal relationships and our solid track record of success will enable us to continue to grow and develop. We will do this with steady, planned growth and by taking advantage of strategic opportunities.

How would you describe the management style here?
There is a special entrepreneurial spirit behind the operation and thrust of the Ramee Group. We are an innovative hospitality management group that believes breaking the industry mould by combining an upbeat management style and creative spirit, with result-oriented business practices. We are committed to creating a business environment that is progressive and enjoyable and where honesty, integrity and ethics matter.

What are your expansion plans and what are the key locations in the group's radar?
We will identify the markets where we feel that we already have critical scale and an opportunity to leverage the existing infrastructure. Of course, these are also the markets where we see the most significant growth opportunity. We are looking at India and the Gulf in a big way to expand as the markets there are stable and they are certainly countries in which we have had a presence for many years, though not with the kind of penetration that we are now able to achieve. So expect to see more aggressive growth there.

What is the kind of expansion in terms of monies that the group is looking at and how are the funds being accrued?
A decision to raise funds by way of a private placement or an initial public offering will be taken up by us soon. We are debating on raising a sum which will give a fillip to our expansion plans. We want to expand to cities like Pune, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad, and later in Goa, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi.

What have been your organization's major achievements in regard to continuous improvement of the quality of care that you provide?
As a truly multi-national company, the Ramee Group of Hotels and Resorts, currently operates and manages (32?) properties in the mid-market segment as hotels, resorts and apartments in UAE, Bahrain, India and Oman. Each year, we have added new members to our portfolio, showing a steady growth in the number of properties. To date, all group properties enjoy over 90% guest room occupancy throughout the year and operate about 27 themed outlets entertaining thousands of guests daily. Capitalizing on the strength of our hotel group, we have expanded on our other brands too. Rock Bottom Café, and Bollywood Café, Elegant Beauty Saloon have all created waves in their respective market niche. Our current employee strength is over 3,000 and the human resources activities operate from India and Dubai sourcing skilled staff and management professionals from over 15 countries! Our hospitality operations today have visionary leadership backed by expertise in all disciplines. It is the endeavor of the company to keenly pursue growth in numbers and quality management in newer territories around the world.

What have been the main factors or reasons behind your success in these areas?
It takes great people to make great teams. Our Group boasts the best group of individuals from Dishwasher to Executive Chef, from Banquet Houseman to Sales Manager. Our team focuses on one thing - customer satisfaction.
We are dedicated to honoring our guests by providing value and quality through friendly and efficient service, and by fostering a supportive organization that instills pride and exceptional team morale based on the core values of caring for people, valuing teamwork and delivering results.

How would you describe your organization's culture? How strong is it?
The shared values, norms and expectations that guide our family in terms of how to approach their work and deal with each other and their customers, is what I would call organizational culture. It is a key determinant of staff satisfaction, intention to stay and whether staff recommends their organization to others as a good place to work.
The Ramee Group is managed with a balanced scorecard, and the training mandate is a minimum of 40 hours of training, per person, per year. We believe that as employees grow, their enthusiasm and talent will improve the Company, enabling the development of new ideas and standards of excellence. Ultimately, it is the highly skilled employees who will provide our customers with even better service, making Ramee the benchmark in the industry.
In what ways has society helped you to become successful?
People who I meet from various strata of society and different cultures, influence the way I think and the way I am. I spend time talking to all types of people be it the tea boy or the driver. I enjoy getting down to the same sensibility of these people, for it is them along with friends and family that make me what I am. The community we live in, its character and viewpoints are major influences in my life and each one of the interactions I have had, has shaped my character and encouraged me to set my sights further.

How would you like to contribute back to society?
The renowned philosopher Albert Schweitzer once said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.”
Recognising our responsibilities, we will devote ourselves to the progress and development of society and the well-being of people through our business activities, thereby enhancing the quality of life.
At Ramee, we are committed to maintaining the same philosophy wherever we operate. This philosophy is characterized by the following tenets:
1. Providing solutions that enhance the quality of life.
2. Constant endeavor to create employment opportunities and to enrich the quality of the workforce through skill up gradation and training.
3. To participate in activities that reflect our commitment to corporate social responsibility.

What are your views on charity?
Charity is an act of gratitude. Happiness arises by genuinely showing gratitude to the family and community that has made you what you are. There are scores of people and institutions that have given a lot to make you what you are today. Start with your parents, the sacrifices they made, the time they spent caring for you; your school that made you a wholeperson, gave you knowledge and shaped your core values and character; the society / country that gave you the opportunities to be free from fear, and the cultural moorings of self-hood. We must respect and acknowledge them. Gratitude is best expressed by action in living up to the expectation of those who care for you.