Ramee Group plans 10 New projects in 2010

Mr. Raj at the auspicious moment: Shilpa shetty & Raj Kundra

Summit on Climate Change (22 September 2009)

Speech of Yugratna Srivastava

Respected UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki - moon,
Honourable Dignitaries and August Assembly.
I am 13 years young Yugratna from organisation Tarumitra, meaning Friends of Trees, which is an NGO of 1600 high schools and involved in promoting environmental awareness. I feel privileged to represent children and youth, 3 billion of the
world’s population in this Summit on Climate Change. I am so much concerned about climate change because I don’t want our future generations to question us just as I am questioning the need of more concrete action on climate change today.
The Himalayas are melting, polar bears are dying, 2 of every 5 people don’t have access to clean drinking water, earth’s temperature is increasing, we are losing the untapped information and potential of plant species , Pacific’s water level
has risen, Is this what we are going to hand over to our future generations?
Please…….no!

We received a clean and healthy planet from our ancestors and we are gifting a damaged one to our successors? Is their any justice in this?
Honourable Excellencies, we need to call for an action now. We have to protect the earth not just for us but for our future generations.
If not here then where, if not now then when and if not us then who?
Please listen to our voices. The future needs strong vision and leadership!
One month ago, we had a TUNZA International Children and Youth Conference in Korea. The 800 participants and several thousands online developed a statement requesting you as leaders to:

1. Agree on a more fair, just and action oriented post-Kyoto agreement adopted and implemented by all countries Not just formulate policies but also enforce them by
translating them into actions.

1. Please stop the people who are making Mother Earth Cry.
2. Why cut the oxygen generating forests to create CO2 generating industries?
3. Include carbon and ecological footprint information in products.
4. Adapt to a green economy and sustainable production.
5. Develop a multi-national climate facility to monitor climate response strategies.

The high tech. society and currency deposits in bank are of no use if we don’t have a compatible biosphere.
In the awareness, it is not just about solving an environmental problem….but it is exclusively about changing the mindset and attitude of people!
Educate students about the climate change by making environmental education mandatory at all the levels of learning. To get a sustainable Earth, we don’t need to stop the developments. The need is quest and expansion of affordable eco-friendly technologies available to common man like Energy Efficient Campuses, Bio-fuels and Renewable energy sources.

I just want to ask all the world leaders two questions:-
1. Do environmental problems recognize any geographical or political boundaries and age groups? My answer is certainly no.
This is why; we have the UN to talk each other about these issues. I request you to please include the voices of children and youth in all your decisions.
2. If national security and peace, and economic growth are priorities, than why not climate change?

I know that you all are great leaders but overall we all are humans. We all have a kind heart. I am sure that UN negotiations at Copenhagen this year will end with recommendations for good of humanity…and they have to.
Whatever has happened in the past is over. We just have present and future in our hands. Let’s act in the present to secure our future.
We have one Mother Earth: Care it and Share it.
Respected leaders, when you all make policies, please think of a child suffering in greenhouse heat and think of the species craving to survive.
Mahatma Gandhi said “Earth has enough to satisfy everyone’s
need but no one’s greed"
A bird can fly in air, a fish can swim in water, a leopard can run far faster, But we the humans have been supernaturally gifted with mind….a capability to think, change and reform ….so come on let us all use these abilities to save our birthplace…. our home…. our mother earth!

Thank You

Dear Managers,..

Success of any restaurant depends on the attention to details and offering the diner an experience that makes them carve to return again.

Entrepreneurs Should Have Hunger In The Belly!

ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD HAVE HUNGER IN THE BELLY!!!
ALL MANAGERS SHOULD HAVE HUNGER IN THEIR BELLY AND A MIND FOR GROWTH.
ALSO THEY HAVE TO WORK LIKE A TEAM TO ACHIEVE THE GROWTH.
At END OF THE DAY WE ALL WORK FOR MONEY.
NO WORK NO MONEY.
THIS IS THE STORY OF THE LIFE.

To Ramee Family- "What we can do in this recession?"

The Successful & Powerful Managers

Managers must be judged on the real score

F & B SERVICE

Dear All,

It has been observed by CMW that, our service staff 's(waiter/waitress) style of asking the customer about the quality of food and service is unprofessional.

Our service staff 's way of asking to the guest that Sir/Madam how is the food? this is not suitable to the hospitality industry and do not ask this question at all.

If the plate is empty means the food is good and the guest is satisfied. If the guest did not finish the food then service staff should inform the outlet manager/f&b manager about the same and take the plate to chef and find out the reason and discuss about it.

Service Staff has to say always like Sir/Madam I/We hope you enjoyed the food?

Also the manager should request for the customer feed back about the experience about the service.

F&B Managers has to conduct proper training to their outlet staff to improve the service standard to give our valuabe customer ''WOW'' experience so that we will get more chance to serve them better and better always.


CMW

SALES MAN FROM RAJASTAN

A keen immigrant Indian marwari lad applied for a salesman's job at London's premier downtown department store.

In fact, it was the biggest store in the world - you could get anything there. The boss asked him,
"Have you ever been a salesman before?"

"Yes sir, I was a salesman in Rajasthan in India", replied the lad.

The boss liked the cut of him and said,
"You can start tomorrow and I'll come and see you."
The day was long and arduous for the young man, but he got through it. And finally 6:00 PM came around. The boss duly fronted up and asked, "How many sales did you make today?"
"Sir, Just ONE sale." said the young salesman.
"Only one sale?"
blurted the boss. "No! No! You see here, most of my staff make 20 or 30 sales a day. If you want to keep this job, you'd better be doing better than just one sale. By the way How much was the sale worth?

"Three hundred thousand, three hundred and thirty four pounds" said the young marwari.
"What"," How did you manage that?" asked the flabbergasted boss.
"Well", said the salesman, "This man came in and I sold him a small fish hook, then a medium hook and finally a really large hook. Then I sell him new fishing rod and some fishing gear. Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down the coast. So I told him he'd be needing a boat, so I took him down to the boat department and sold him that twenty-foot schooner with the twin engines.
Then he said his Volkswagen probably wouldn't be able to pull it, so I took him to our automotive department and sold him that new Deluxe 4X4 Blazer.I then asked him where he'll be staying, and since he had no accommodation,I took him to camping department and sold him one of those new igloo 6 sleeper camper tents. Then the guy said, while we're at it, I should throw in about $100 worth of groceries and two cases of beer.

The boss took two steps back and asked in astonishment,
"You sold all that to a guy who came in for a fish hook!!"

"No" answered the salesman, "he came in to buy a box of Sanitary napkins for his wife and I said to him, "Sir, Your weekends screwed anyway, you might as well go fishing."

Which category you belongs to?

There are three types of people:

• Dull avoids the work;


• Average who finishes the work;


• Genius who creates the work;

Silent lips avoids the problem, but smiling lips solves the problem.

Message from CMW

If you want to win the battle - You have to fight

Without fighting, you can not win the battle

You can not get reward also!!!

Whether the economy is up or down, or we are at the war front, people need to be optimistic

BE AN OPTIMIST, AND WORK WITH DETERMINATION AND DEDICATION.


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“For myself, I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”
-Sir Winston Churchill, speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet, London, November 9, 1954

RAMEE GROUP: VISION & MISSION

VISION

• V ISION
  To increase and expand the rich heritage of our family brands across the globe.
• I NVESTING
  Investing continuously in our team members to improve performance.
• S TATEMENT
  Guest is the most important factor in our business we are here because of him.
• I MPROVE
  To be competent by improving constantly in satisfying our customers.
• O PPORTUNITY
  Growing people within by giving opportunity.
• N OVEL
  Delivering new, fresh and creative products to our guests for a VOW experience.

MISSION

Ramee Group of Hotels & Resorts mission is to provide authentic hospitality.
We make a difference in the lives of people we touch every day
Our definition of hospitality.

• M ISSION
  To provide true and rich hospitality. We make a difference in the lives of those we touch every day - that is our definition of hospitality. We do this in an environment that respects all people and all ideas. We do it in an efficient way that leads to superior results.
• I DEOLOGY
  The Ramee Group is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. We promise to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests with warm, relaxed and yet superior ambience.
• S LOGAN
  Guest is the most important factor in our business
  he is not dependent on us we are dependent on him
  he is not interruption to our work he is the purpose of it
  he is not an outsider on our business he is part of it
  we are not doing a favor to him by serving him
  he is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so. By: Mahatma Gandhi.
• S ATISFACTION
  Instant guest pacification is the responsibility of each employee and guest’s satisfaction is the attitude of each employee.
• I NTELLIGENCE
  Conserve energy, properly maintain our hotels and protect the environment is the responsibility of each employee wisely.
• O PEN COMMUNICATION
  For us to operate competently and deliver on our commitments, it is very critical that everyone has open communication to obtain current, accurate and timely information.
• N EVER LOOSE A GUEST
  Whoever receives the complaint resolves it to the guest’s satisfaction that is what we believe in.

Indian Business Community Welcomes Second Term of Manmohan Singh

Ramee Group on major expansion drive

Competitive Actions in Financial Crisis

1. Competitive actions must be supported with personal and organization resources. The most important of these resources are your creativity and the commitment of your employees.

2. The greater the scope of the actions, the greater the expenditure of resources. Resources should be available before action is undertaken.

3. Quick victory is the aim of competitive action. If victory is delayed, then vision becomes dim and enthusiasm drains away. If a struggle is continued for a long time without results, the strength of people’s determination will be exhausted.

4. When your creativity is dulled, your commitment dampened, your enthusiasm drained, and your financing depleted, competitors will take advantage of your weakness. When that happens, no executive, however wise, can prevent the decline of his career and loss of business.

5. While we know that hastily executed competitive operations can be troublesome, we have never seen successful competitive operations that wasted time. A successful competitive operation need not be complicated. To win, do simple things well…and quickly.



6. Executives who cannot balance risk with opportunity cannot profit in today’s business environment. Speed and innovation are the keys. Only those who are comfortable with the pitfalls and ambiguities of rapid execution can profitably manage new products and services. Only those who appreciate the knowledge gained from quick failure can achieve lasting success.

7. A skillful executive does not hesitate to utilize the resources at his command. He engages the competition immediately. He gains precious information from direct contact with his constituents. He does not waste time talking to corporate staff people who are farther removed from the competitive situation than he is. Being one step ahead of the competition is worth more than anything else. Gaining that step is the wise executive’s greatest desire.

8. A skillful executive builds the strongest possible team from the people in his company. He lets the competition show him how to serve better. In this way he is always increasing his constituent share. He builds his fortune through outstanding performance.

9. When an executive fails in competitive operations, it is due to overdependence on internal knowledge or folk wisdom. Folk wisdom is that body of unchallenged assumptions which everyone thinks to be true. Folk wisdom exists in every organization. The value of information offered by people who do not know constituents personally is almost zero, particularly in times of rapid change. Decisions made far from the constituents impoverish the executive.

10. Timely, accurate information is the lifeblood of successful competition. When obtained from outside sources, information is expensive. Expensive information wastes the company’s resources.

11. The most expensive information is that which is out-of-date. Seventy percent of the value of information is gained from timeliness. Resources spent to gather yesterday’s data are wasted. Maintaining yesterday’s data consumes large portions of available money and manpower.

12. The wise executive harvests timely information from his constituents and his competitors. One new product idea generated from discussion with a real customer is worth any number of ideas generated by consultants or headquarters staff.

13. In order to dominate, you and your people – from top to bottom – must be passionate about the services you provide and the products you represent.

14. To capture the spirits of your employees, you must give them clearly defined and valuable rewards. You should reward the group fro gaining customer share. But people should also be able to get rewards based on individual merit.

15. When someone provided outstanding service to a customer, reward him openly. Make his service an example for others to follow by providing sure and meaningful rewards for excellence.

16. Treat your employees well; train them thoroughly. The success of the organization is built on the individual success of its members.

17. The important thing in competitive operations is quick results, not prolonged activity. The executive who understands how to excite his people and dominate a marketplace will become the foundation for his company.

When it Rained in Mumbai - Ramee Poured Help

GODS decided to test the people of Mumbai on July 26, 2005. It rained. And rained. And rained. And rained. The paper boats sailed for a while but then sank; limp and joyless. Smiles turned into wonder and wonder into horror as water refused to cease. And, in fact, kept rising.

In the jhuggis, it reached the ankles and so families folded their legs and sat huddled on the only bed in the house. It came up higher and the mattresses started floating in water. People stood up, cursing, petrified and then finally were pulled out by neighbours and taken to neighbourhood buildings, attics, higher floors.


In the apartments, one stood in the balcony and watched the cars disappear under muddy brown water, Planks of wood, leaves, plastic bags floated and stopped once in a while, stuck to a pole or two. “All’s well”, said nervous neighbours to each other through bravado and forced smiles. They decided not to think of their Honda Citys and the Astras and the jumble Marutis. The phones had stopped working long ago. One waited and waited. It was an eerie feeling. Homes surrounded by unrelenting, unmoving water. Marooned in the house, right in the middle of Mumbai.



Recorded as the heaviest in India and one of the heaviest in the world, the 90 inches of rains in six days brought with them devastation. Having measured up to 94.4 cm in one day in some areas, they left about half a million people homeless. The waters shut down the city which otherwise never stands still. The airport were closed and thousands of people were forced to walk home in chest-deep water all through the night. More than 150,000 people sere stranded in local railway stations. The country’s finance capital lost about $150m.

After a harrowing time, water receeded. One sighed with relief and got on with life. Electricity blinked back slowly and gradually. TVs started humming again. Computers let us be in touch with the world. “Phew! What was that?” we asked each other, now smiling real smiles. World was fine again. The only problem was that the maids and the cooks and the drivers had not come in. We chucked in disappointment and then shuddered at the thought: What happened to them? The families, the children, the aged in their homes? Their rations wasted, turned to lumps, the clothes, bags, mattresses….all gone!

Ramee Charitable Trust thought of that too. But instead of sighing and clucking in despair, it swing into action. Under the watchful but benevolent eye of Sudhanshu Kumar Singh, Group GM, Ramee Guestline, Mumbai, the trust began its work, swiftly and efficiently. People’s basic needs had to be taken care of. The chain of hotels distributed rice, daal, oil, sugar, teabags….and for children whose notebooks were wiped clean of the ink and all the work with it, Ramee’s humane concerns made sure that the kids would go to school and pick up from where they had left before the dreadful rains began. There were books, pencils, stationery…all distributed absolutely free of cost.

The Ramee’s Centre in Santacruz, a western suburb in Mumbai, was thronged by thousands of people who came there with tearful eyes and went back with groceries and hopes of rebuilding their lives. If the 29th , 30th and 31st were the days of back-breaking work, very different from the usual, nobody at Ramee complained. It may have cost the Group lakhs of rupees, but it was well worth the effort. And through the rains, Group GM Sudhanshu Kumar Singh smiled. Because hospitality is about people, and life is not only about money.

About Mr. Raj Shetty

V.M. Shetty is a self proclaimed ‘dreamer’ but with a difference because unlike the common man, his dreams are not restricted to the night time activity of sleeping. He brings them to a point of realizable in a man who has the courage to tread the uncommon path.

A humble man with a larger than life personality, Raj, as he is popularly known, can come across as intimidating. However, it is only when he gradually breaks down his protective barrier, that you see the true man – a go-getter with an ambition of being the best hotelier, a committed family man, and a mentor who pushes his team to strive for being number one. As Raj Shetty himself puts it, “the team makes a company succeed. My team of managers has to share my dream because if we don’t share a common dream, then we will never reach the point of realization.”

A man who lost his father when he was a mere 13 year old boy, Shetty knows what the term ‘struggle’ means – “My entire family was into the restaurant and food business so I wanted to be a hotelier ever since I was a child, but with the passing away of my father a lot of adjustments had to be made. I had to work towards my own education and my own dream, without the backing of a father. I began working at a young age ut even when I did work for others, I never looked at my watch. I have also worked ‘without pay’ for a friend because he needed someone at that stage of his venture – I never thought that I am working for my own friend or that I am doing it for free because at that point of time his success was more important than my ego. I preferred to view it as, “this is my friend’s dream and I am an active participant in helping him realize his dream.” It’s like when you watch a movie, it’s entirely someone else’s figment of imagination at play on the screen, but as the audience you become an involved participant and before you know it, you have participated in the realization of the conceptualizer’s dream.

V.M. Shetty has 2000 people employed under him and owns 33 hotels but he considers himself as one of the workers “Every manager of mine is a leader and they have been given a free hand to make independent decisions. I am one man; I cannot physically run 33 hotels everyday. Besider, I believe in analyzing my time and its limitations effectively. I see no reason why I should be an autocratic employer; I have employed professionals who know their job well and their parameters have been clearly defined. My job was to create a team that could spport me in executing my dream as effectively as possible, and I have done that. From thereon, it is for them to exhibit their caliber and live up to the faith that I have put in them.”

V.M. Shetty says, “The secret of our growth is that we go out of our way for our clients and customers. Our service will never end at rigid rules and regulations of a company because we are in the service industry and situations vary from one time to the other. You will never hear my staff refusing a request from a customer because we go as far as we possibly ca. we train our staff and keep them annually updated on any new aspects of service. Good service is the key to being the best chain of hotels and this is what my team and I are constantly striving for.
A spiritual man rather than a ritualistic one, V.M. Shetty says, “I am merely the custodian of the material elements that God has blessed me with and which I attribute my team for having created. I call it ‘material management’ because nobody was born a tycoon. We have all made the money here and will not take it with us anywhere after we are gone. I am not here to reap harvests alone because I know nothing remains forever. One day when I am gone, someone else will carry on my dream because the journey never ends and there is no final destination when it comes to ambition. We can grow bigger as bigger as time moves on but I may not be there to see all of it. The dream has to go on.

Who Dares, Wins!

Success – the world has different meanings to all of us. For some it involves money, for others accumulation of desired assets and yet others emotional fulfillment in their personal and business relationship, or perhaps all of the above. However, there is most definitely a universal common denominator, and that is, the all encumbering, passionately-focused, positive mindset that successful people invariably have. Successful people do have some amount of luck on their side but luck comes only with tremendous hard work and a vision for the future. You are what you think about and if you think big, you grow big. Raj Shetty, story proves the point more than adequately. Raj Shetty, as he is better known, has proved that belief in oneself, trust in one’s ability and uncompromising hard work in life is a recipe to achieve anything. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Far from it, in fact, born in the small town of Kundapur, located near Udupi in Karnataka, on Oct. 13, 1960, Raj Shetty lived with his family in Mumbai for the early part of his life. When he was 18, he moved to Dubai in search of a better life. It’s the time for other 13 years olds to think of nothing beyond school and friends and a fun-filled life. But it wasn’t so for this destiny’s child. His teenage mind thought of what would make his future better, what would bring about an easier life for his parents. The opportunity could only come out of the country. The boy grasped that what most grownups pondered over. Raj Shetty applied for a job through an agent, and secured his first overseas break in Saudi Arabia at Costian Oil Refinery. Life was not easy for the little man who was called on to handle the most boring or unwanted jobs. He kept his chin up and his dream alive: One day he was going to build an empire in the hospitality business. The hospitality industry lured him. Albert abelas was his second job and a stepping stone to the industry. It is an experience that he will never forget. Having joined as Captain and being promoted to the level of Restaurant manager would have left a lot of us content and bereft of any further ambition. But Raj Shetty did not stop, he took us part time jobs and while his friends and colleagues were busy enjoying life, Raj Shetty worked day and night to pave way for his dream venture.

He returned to India with his savings and started a juice bar, which was successful for a short while. But he ached for more and so packed his bags yet again and came back to the Middle East with an even greater determination. He took up jobs at various levels, this time the entrepreneur did not hesitate to serve as a waiter, and then went on to become a captain and then a restaurants manager. In the process he also made good contacts and built relationships that came to good use one day with the local authorities and governments. His people skills were inborn.

His first independent opportunity in the Middle East came when he was offered lease to the first hotel in Dubai, UAE, to the start of the Ramee Empire. This was at the age of 25 years, barely decade after he started earning his first salary, The second venture was Glass Suites and then there was no looking back.

Al Ras in Deira was his first hotel. He put extreme efforts day and night, created his own team and profitably ran the hotel which earned him more monetary reserves. From 1997 to 2006 the company under the flagship Ramee Group of Hotels, Resorts and Apartments, chaired by him, owns 25 plus hotels, apartments and resorts in India, Dubai, Bahrain and Muscat. Regent Palace is his flagship hotel which has earned him tremendous credibility and a great reputation in the local market.

Under his direct supervision, the company’s strength has been in running budget hotels in excellent locations with themed outlets. Some of his own created signature outlets like Rock Bottom Café, Rocky’s café, Far East seafood Market and Bollywood café are successfully running in his hotels.

The story of Ramee is the story of one man’s dream with his team, his spontaneous creativity, the ability and willingness to make decisions and the courage to take risks. Raj Shetty has been driven by the need to create something new, build something tangible – the sing of a true entrepreneur. For him the game of life has meant betting on himself, winning, attracting new opportunities and creating good luck and good fortune not only for himself but also for the hundreds of people working with him as well as their families.

The company’s vision is to operate and own as many as 200 hotels in a short span of time. The Group aims to come out with more budget hotels in the near future.