The Hindu Business Line : A hotelier at heart

"If you perform you can grow. You are trained to add on skills. Frankly, I wasn't even career-minded to begin with. I just enjoyed each day, and the years went by."

The Taj West End stands apart from other hotels in Bangalore. Its luxury of detail endows it with a stamp of class. Its sprawling, sylvan surroundings offer guests the privacy of shady trees to dream under or while away the hours with a book or a pleasant companion.

Of late, it hosted some events that took the city by storm. Such as the centenary celebrations of the Taj Mahal Palace, the pioneering hotel of India's largest global hotel company, which boasts of 52 hotels at 34 cross-country locations, besides 12 international properties. The resplendent event featured an evocative photographic walk down memory lane in the lobby, an assemblage of vintage cars down the palm-lined driveway, and a champagne and caviar outdoor buffet under the stars.

Another evening presented the scintillating US Jazzissimo quartet, while a third marked a consular dinner on German Reunification Day with sausage and sauerkraut, washed down by mugs of beer.

Who ensured an impeccable hospitality performance at each event? Pep Kumar, the Taj West End's general manager since 2000, after ad similar stint at the local Taj Residency. Just back from a London convention of the leading hotels of the world, she's ready to take questions head-on, with the poise that has become her hallmark.

"I've been with the Taj group for 27 years. I joined as a cashier in the front office at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel, and never looked back," Pep says with pride.

"In the hotel business, though we account for between 15 and 18 per cent of the personnel, women occupy prime positions in housekeeping, sales and marketing, or as resident or general managers. But we have hardly any chambermaids." And few women are in the food and beverage services, the kitchens, or security.

This sociology graduate from St Xavier's College was fascinated by the Taj lore she heard from her uncle, the Mumbai property's executive chef, who never retired from the job. As a collegian, she would rough it out in their kitchens. "It gave me a feel of the dynamics of the hotel, especially meeting their staff down the line," she laughs.

What special skills does hoteliering require? "It's all about hospitality, so you must enjoy what you are doing. It's about the guest always being right," she responds.

"It's about the skill to turn the worst situations around. Unless you're passionate about the job, you can't make it. When we were younger, all our friends would be out partying, while we'd be on duty. We had to make those sacrifices."

She recalls her eight-plus years at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace with nostalgia. "It's like an ocean. But you felt you knew everybody and everything. We had regulars who came back year after year. I remember a Kuwaiti family we bonded with through their annual visits because we knew their exact requirements," says Pep.

That brings her to the importance of guest histories in hospitality. "We didn't have computers then, but each of us remembered details about each guest," she recalls.

Do women bring an unusual touch to hotel management? "We have that extra eye for detail," says Pep. "We drive a tough bargain. After all, we instinctively know how to get a good deal at the market. This counts when we contract business or a party or rooms, or negotiate with suppliers."

How does that translate into inter-personal skills with her 450 staff at the West End, including gardening, security, and laundry? "I guess there's a little of that motherly instinct," she smiles.

"So, the staff feel comfortable about approaching you with their problems, reassured that you can sort out tough situations."

The West End as a heritage hotel is indisputably part of the Taj luxury brand. Launched in 1887 as a boarding-lodging facility, Bronson's Inn, the Spencer group takeover added on Bangalore bungalows within the verdant compound, until the temporary Taj intervention in 1978. That later led to today's management since 1984, which retained the property's natural ambience and original architecture.

How does the Taj intend to improve on the West End? A series of revamped rooms have large sit-outs, with gates leading guests in. The coffee shop is being done up. And Bangalore's most popular Thai restaurant, Paradise Island, is being closed for an exotic redefinition, 16 years after its launch. "That breaks my heart because it's doing so well, but the normal life of a restaurant is just five to six years," says Pep. Her career graph spans many cities. She went from Mumbai to Delhi's Taj Palace, a brief posting in Bangalore, followed by Indore. Then came an exciting opening team experience at the Taj Bengal in Kolkata. "I set up the front office systems," she recalls. "You see the hotel grow from the marble being laid in the lobby to the staff being trained. Everybody pitches in to make sure the whole thing happens. I remember we had an inter-denominational prayer ceremony for the opening.... And that our first guest came in from Bangladesh."

She was general manager at the Taj property in Mangalore for three successful years before relocating to Bangalore to have a baby over six years ago. Her husband works in the city as a Taj hotelier.

Does she perceive guest feedback as the hotel's lifeline?

"We analyse and look at feedback on a daily, even hourly, basis — from the restaurants, the room, the banquets. It's so critical. It's important, if somebody hasn't had a good time, to make him or her feel better before they leave," she emphasises.

The current revamps are aimed at user-friendly, top-of-the-line rooms for business executives. To ensure quality, each guest at a mock-up room had a personal note from the general manager, requesting feedback. In response, a combined console that could power a laptop computer and charge a mobile phone was installed, instead of separate points. "We hadn't thought of that ourselves," Pep confesses. "Feedback is invaluable."

In response to questions, she outlines why the West End is cautious about maintaining its guest profile when taking large block bookings, in keeping with its positioning as a luxury hotel. She also explains why the local Taj Gateway was originally created as a mid-market hotel ("almost a room factory"), but had to be modified to suit Indian expectations of the Taj brand.

Pep also talks about Project Wildfire with Taj expertise, to set up a nationwide network of budget hotels in the Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 segment, a room product to tap the latent market.

What's the bottom-line, then? "We're proud to belong to a Tata company. In the Taj group, we've had bellboys who've become departmental heads. If you perform, you can grow. You're trained to add on skills," Pep concludes unequivocally, adding, "Frankly, I wasn't even career-minded to begin with. I just enjoyed each day, and the years went by."

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