TBM Staff - Hyderabad Hotelivate is all set to host the 9th Edition of its Hotel Operations Summit – India (HOSI) at the Indian School of Hospitality, Gurgaon on September 9.
Riding on the back of the previous edition, this year too will, the conference will see a hybrid format, allowing many more professionals to join in virtually and be a part of the event. With the most challenging times of the recent years behind us, the hospitality fraternity has been focused on bouncing back, with all its business decisions revolving around hotel operational teams which have gone through turmoil in terms of changing trends, government guidelines, manpower shortages and so much more. The conference is once again returning to the Indian School of Hospitality, one of the country’s leading hospitality management institutes. Home to the first École Ducasse campus in India, ISH offers international education in culinary arts, and their hospitality management programs are offered in alliance with the globally renowned school Les Roches.
HOSI is the only dedicated forum for hotel professionals in the region and has always aimed to empower hospitality leaders through enabling discussions on management and operations-related issues, the rapidly evolving marketplace, latest industry trends, benchmarking, and best practices. HOSI aims at furthering the exchange of ideas in the industry. A collection of keynote addresses, interviews and panel discussions will tell the story of operational challenges and opportunities as well as the ongoing journey of hospitality towards better days.
The conference will be aimed at providing a much-needed boost to one of the worst-affected industries in the world with some of its most prominent thought-leaders and trend-setters uniting under one roof, discussing operational excellence. The conference will feature some exclusive interviews and keynote addresses in an endeavour to make the event more content rich. It will have some notable speakers such as Ranju Alex, Area Vice President – South Asia – Marriott International, Ratnesh Verma, Founder and CEO – Pidge, Abhinav Rajput, COO – Greater Than, Chekitan S. Dev, Professor – Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director – Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, Dipak Deva, Managing Director – Travel Corporation of India, Vikram Madhok, Managing Director – Abercrombie & Kent – India.
The conference will also feature many relevant panel discussions with industry leaders like “Leader’s Panel: Keeping Market Share” – moderated by Vineet Verma, Director – Brigade Hospitality with Abhishek Logani, Chief Business Officer, Hotels – MakeMyTrip, Anuraag Bhatnagar, Chief Operating Officer -The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts, Sunjae Sharma, Managing Director- India & SW Asia – Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Rohit Khosla, Executive Vice President – Operations, IHCL as panellists. There will also be some thought-provoking sessions like “Hotel Operations”, “In Search of Talent” – to name a few. At a fireside chat, Anil Chadha, Divisional Chief Executive – ITC Hotels will be interviewed by Dilip Puri, Founder & CEO -Indian School of Hospitality.
Commenting on the 9th anniversary of HOSI, Manav Thadani, Founder Chairman of Hotelivate said, “This year’s edition will be unique as hospitality has really evolved post the pandemic and its long-term effects are now coming to the surface. Hotels are evolving constantly so are one’s best practices. We have an exciting agenda in place which features industry leaders and stalwarts – all bringing a new perspective to the table. We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from our delegates, patrons, speakers and sponsors”
Like every year, the ‘Make My Trip HOSI General Manager of the Year Awards’ will be announced. These are a wonderful opportunity to recognize and highlight the hard work and outstanding performance displayed by the General Managers untiringly running the show. The nominations would be across four categories: Luxury Hotels; Upper Upscale and Upscale Hotels; Upper Mid-Market and Mid-Market Hotels; Budget and Economy Hotels. The winners will be shortlisted based on their weighted average scores based on the information provided in the nomination form and then an in-person discussion with an independent jury.
This year, there would also be two more exciting competitions aimed at challenging and recognizing the best talent in the industry. A Mystery Box Competition and a Patisserie Challenge have been organized to celebrate the best culinary skills the industry has. Chefs from various hotels will compete in teams to prepare dishes and desserts, which will be judged in a blind-tasting format. The final winners will be announced as a part of the conference program and will win attractive prizes.
The conference will ultimately conclude with the famous “Hot Seat Debate” moderated by Manav Thadani, which will bring to light the challenging and changing times for leadership. The panel will have Jay Rathore, Senior Vice President and General Manager – The Oberoi New Delhi, Ronan P. Fearon, General Manager – JW Marriott Bengaluru Prestige Golfshire Resort & Spa, Srijan Vadhera, General Manager – Conrad Bengaluru and Varun Chhibber, Complex General Manager – The Leela Gurugram & The Leela East Delhi.
