Here’s more on his journey and initiatives in an exclusive with BOTT India.
Priyanka Saxena Ray
Davinder Juj, after completing his IHM, started working at the Hyatt Regency New Delhi as a steward in F&B Service. “Even today when I look back, it gives me a great feeling that I had the opportunity to join such a great establishment with huge volume of business that apparently taught me all the basic tricks and groomed me for the future course of life. The learnings at that level and the motivation to grow and reach new heights is what I learned from my first job,” he reminisces.
A firm believer of the fact that the key to success in any field is hard work and dedication and that it comes from the passion and willingness to learn, followed by skill development at all levels and habit of responding to change as per new circumstances, Davinder feels that the hospitality industry works on pillars of relationship building and thinking on your feet to handle situations. “In 25 years of my carrier, I have worked with only two hotel groups – Asian Hotels and Eros Group of Hotels. Although over this period, I have had the experience to learn from many brands such as Hyatt Regency, Hilton Hotels, InterContinental Hotels and Eros Group of Hotels,” he adds.
Sharing his thoughts on the challenges he faced in the professional journey, he says, “It’s not about the challenges that we face rather it is our response to those challenges that makes a difference. I have had similar challenges like many others in the hospitality industry. There are certain low impact challenges that distinguish our job from others like meeting revenues and GOP numbers, long working hours, insufficient family time, pressure to exceed guest expectations, waiting for the right opportunity to move ahead in professional journey etc. Additionally, there are other significant challenges that turn out to be the life changing moments and dealing those challenges always defines a person. Gulf War, 9/11 US Attack, Mumbai Attack and now the ongoing pandemic because of which the businesses have suffered a big hit and the prospect of the entire industry got affected. To safeguard your colleagues, your business, ensuring to keep the trust and confidence of your customers becomes very important during these periods. The restart post any such events is always of great significance and ensuring a steady growth out of these challenges and bouncing back strongly has always been the focus and key to sustain.”
The GM states that at the Eros Hotel, safety and hygiene of guests and team members have always been of paramount importance. In the new normal, awareness and preparedness of team members will play a significant role to keep everyone safe at the premises. To ensure that everyone visiting the hotel feels the warmth and comfort while having the sense of safety, the hotel has implemented a stringent yet comprehensive outline of measures which will be thoroughly followed once the hotels re-open. Over the past few months, the team at Eros Hotel New Delhi Nehru Place has been continuously engaging with all its guests and keeping them informed about the protocols, which the hotel has adopted to keep them safe at the premises after re-opening.
“I would like to say something before concluding – one is my message to all the hoteliers that due to the ongoing pandemic, we are all going through tough times yet I believe that this phase too shall pass soon. We are in this together and will come out of it stronger and better. The learning from this phase will guide us towards a brighter future. Secondly, we at Eros Hotel have always believed in the ideology of giving back to the society. During this pandemic also, we came forward and joined our hands with NGO’s to feed the needy ones with packed food boxes prepared by our chefs with all their love and warmth. We will continue our support in future,” concludes the dynamic GM.
Protection protocols being followed at Eros Hotel New Delhi Nehru Place
- Glass shielding at Reception desks to maintain safe distance from others
- Reduced contact points during check-in and check-out
- Digital/Contactless payments
- Automatic sensor taps & sanitizers
- Touchless soap dispensers
- PPE in all relevant areas
- Staggered seating and foot marks for safe distancing
- Scanning of team members for temperature checks and Aarogya Setu App upon arrival.
- Wearing masks and gloves is mandatory for them at all times.
- A dedicated Hygiene and Safety Manager to ensure that all protocols are followed
- Guests to fill Self-declaration forms during check-in to assess their medical and travel history
- Appropriate assistance will be provided to unwell guests as per Govt. guidelines
- Mandatory trainings and mock drills for all team members in order to sensitize them about the guidelines prescribed by the Government of India for maintaining personal hygiene and safety. Awareness and emergency posters are placed in all back areas for a lasting impression on team members
- Rooms will be blocked keeping in mind the 24 hours cleaning/resting period
- In-Room service will be provided on request
- Touchless buffet service and pre-portioned individual dishes in buffet will be provided
- Dedicated separate entry for banquet guest and availability of sanitizer and temperature check at the entrance
- Door of pre-function area and banquet area to open for significant time to maintain the cross ventilation
- Sanitization of guest luggage at the entry point
- Use of Electrostatic sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectant to sanitise surfaces throughout the hotel. Electrostatic spraying technology uses the highest classification of disinfectants recommended by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) to treat known pathogens
- All touch points in rooms like door handles, bathroom fixtures, furniture, drawers, remotes, table tops go through highest levels of sanitization and hygiene standard. All guest laundry and room linen is treated with enhanced wash cycles
- All dining areas are properly cleaned and disinfected on regular intervals. The furniture and fixtures of the restaurant like tables, chairs, workstations, table tops, and linen etc. are thoroughly cleaned with disinfectants and sanitized on daily basis
- In addition to the restaurants, protocols are have been defined for the kitchen areas in order to prevent any sort of contamination
- Various signage with messages on social distancing, safety and hygiene measures have been placed in guest and back areas for encouraging them to adhere to the norms
- Awareness and emergency posters have been placed in all back areas for a lasting impression on team members
