Welcome to today's interview with Amit Kumar, the esteemed General Manager of Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa Mahabalipuram. With an impressive career in the hospitality industry, Amit Kumar brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his role. Known for his exceptional leadership skills and dedication to delivering unparalleled guest experiences, he has played a pivotal role in establishing Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa Mahabalipuram as a premier destination for luxury and relaxation. Join us as we delve into his insights, strategies, and vision for the resort, and gain a deeper understanding of the fascinating world of luxury hospitality from the perspective of a true industry expert.
Could you tell us a bit more about how Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa Mahabalipuram came to be?
Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa is a destination of its own and with its pristine beaches and its grand lawns showcasing an extravagant location with multitude of offerings and amenities to choose from Inaugurated in July 2018, Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa aimed to cater to Chennai’s high potential market which was witnessing a positive influx of business and leisure travellers alike, thus launching it perfectly timed to meet the growing hospitality demands of the city
With its prized beachfront location, spread across 10 acres of land offers a range of layouts flexible enough to accommodate events of all sizes, from small social gatherings to extravagant weddings and corporate meetings.
With expansive views of the sea dominating this smorgasbord of colour and textures, the element of the Sun is brought about in a subtle way, with natural, diffused lights & sunlit corridors. Prominent elements of Sand can be found in rooms and restaurants in the form of cement lamp stands and traditional, stone installations. The flair of the popular South Indian lifestyle can be seen through the rich artwork, copper artifacts, and intricate upholstery of beautiful, net-weaved chairs. The show stopper is a stunning copper installation of water buffaloes in the lobby, which are symbolic to the city of Chennai. The lobby itself is designed to replicate the famous South Indian Catamaran, which is very symbolic to the city and the lives of the natives.
What do you believe sets this destination apart?
Creating experiences and making memories, Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa has become one off a kind destination with its traditional yet modern looking architectural spaces, this place makes you feel just like home all while indulging in a relaxing and comfortable space overlooking the bay.
At Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa we believe in creating memorable & personalized experiences for our guests from delivering a grand greeting at the entrance with a traditional South Indian welcome of tender coconut and shell necklaces & angavastram wrapped around your neck to welcome amenities and personalized amenities for special occasions for all our guests.
What sets us apart from our competitors; premier resort packed with all the amenities starting with extravagant venues for holding your dream event and multiple venues for your events with 129 well-appointed rooms suites and villas.
The alluring experience from the award-winning restaurants to being one of the top beach resorts in Chennai, We cater to all our guest's needs above and all, Sheraton Grand Chennai is the only property with an expansive 25,000Sq Ft exclusive lush green lawn for any guests to hosts their dream weddings or any social event with a perfect beachfront backdrop, Along with this we also have a perfect infinity pool and a pool deck with a bar overlooking the perfect views of the bay.
As a sizable resort, how do you keep such incredible service standards?
Working towards a personalized guest experience is a key to creating a memorable & blissful moment for our guests all while working on consistency for our associates and team to follow the standards and ensuring experiential guest services and experiences are rendered all.
Undergoing consistent training for providing impeccable service time and again is also one of the major factor that helps us achieve and maintain our incredible service standards
From a memorable & and comfortable experience, we are also committed to providing with a safe environment that aligns with expert protocols with specific area of focus which include:
- Face Coverings
- Rigorous Surface Areas and Public Spaces cleaning
- Minimized Guest Contacts
- Increased awareness and emphasis on Food Safety
- There is also 24/7 Security and surveillance on the property and we always have a doctor on call 24/7 at the property for all the guest’s needs.
Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa Mahabalipuram has an incredible offering, could you tell us more about the planning for guest arrival?
For enhancing and elevating the experiences our Guest relations team connect with our guests before their arrival, to understand the purpose of the visit so the team can curate their experiences.
At our resort we believe in creating memorable & personalized experiences for our all our guests from delivering a grand greeting at the entrance with a traditional South Indian welcome of tender coconut and shell necklaces & angavastram wrapped around your neck to welcome amenities and personalized amenities for special occasions for all our guests.
What do you believe makes a successful experience for a guest at Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa Mahabalipuram?
We believe in creating memorable and blissful moments for our guests making them feel like a part of our family and giving them a feel of their own home with relaxing blissful comfort.
Connecting with our guests, engaging with them, and creating joyful memories and exposures is our top priority, creating trust and loyalty and building this bond amongst us as we laugh and share our memories is how we feel like the guests have had a perfect experience.
Could you tell us more about your journey to being at Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa Mahabalipuram?
In my course of 20 years of enriching experience in the hospitality industry which includes more than a decade spent with Marriott International Hotels, I’ve had an interesting journey with multiple ups and downs and tons of challenges to face from but what helped me stay focused and helped me drive my way forward was always my attitude towards learning new things spearheading the team with their impressive interpersonal & management and knack of innovative towards strategic planning along with their enhanced and stellar services towards our guests.
Prior to this staggering move, I had served in the same capacity at Courtyard by Marriott Chennai. Having also worked with Global Brands like Hyatt, Carlson, Starwood, and now Marriott International, I have honed knowledge in the field through the course of my career, the testament to my beliefs, dedication, and my strong foundation towards my work is one of the key steps to my success and has helped me win multiple accolades which include Food & Beverage Leader of the year for Starwood properties and is the Recipient of the Consumer Operations Award for Marriott International, along with this I have also been awarded General Manager of the Year 2022 in overall categories at the recent HVS Anarock HOPE 2023.
Any future plans for the resort?
Yes, A few key points that we are emphasizing and working on are:
- Net zero we are driven to make a positive and sustainable impact in our resort and this rigorous climate commitment to reach net-zero emissions is a needed step for us to reach that goal towards the future to help and be a part of the community where we live.
- Talent Retention-The desire for more flexible work arrangements and schedules to accommodate work/life balance is at an all-time high, In addition to meeting the strong desire for flexibility at work. It’s also important to set boundaries and incorporate practices to help ease workplace stress and burnout.
- Working for exponential growth towards talent and emphasizing on meeting everyone’s training needs
- Delivering unmatched luxury experience for the guest staying with us at the property by elevating overall guest experience with more engagements and achievements
What does your day-to-day look like?
Always acknowledging priorities whilst leading by example and having patience with customers are just some of the ways in which my skills are used daily.
Most days will consist of handling of responsibilities and operations for the resort all while handling the guest expectations, since flawless service is always expected from our guests Thus, it is our responsibility to ensure that the hotel can meet these expectations and provide each guest with an experience to savour. This includes overseeing the maintenance of the resort whilst ensuring that each department is correctly trained and knows their roles.
The day Starts off by holding the daily morning briefings to strategies with all the heads of departments to check if any concerns may be raised, and so we can ensure that everyone is on aligned. If there is spare time before the daily meeting, it is always and exciting and enticing to go meet and greet our guests and interact with them to know about their experience at the resort. During the day overlooking and developing strategies to brining in business and going over it for generating more revenue for the resort all while working closely with the department heads in ensuring we deliver good profitable business to our stake holders
Assessing the training needs and ensuring that all the associates are getting their needs met is also an important task for ensuring that we grow as a team and develop talent across our property Going into the final stretch of the day, it will typically be spending time with our guests and not underestimating the importance of this, this is crucial in genuinely finding out if the guests needs are met which elevates their experience.
And all the while it may be exhausting, this is all part of the experience of being a General Manager because hospitality is ongoing, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Thus, you really have to have a passion for the job and the industry, because you won’t be able to do a good job without having a knack or aptitude towards striving for success.
