In the era of hop – skip and jump from one job or company to another, it is indeed rare to come across a personality who has remained loyal to a hospitality brand for over a decade now. Mr. Ranjan Banerjee, General Manager, Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla is an epitome of humility who believes that a happy and motivated team can keep any guest happy. Spearheading a corporate hotels in a bustling part of the capital, he remains unfazed by the competition and strongly believes in putting his best foot forward. BOTT is happy to feature his journey in its GM Special Series.
Priyanka Saxena Ray
I always say that there are few who enter the hospitality industry in a planned manner – for most of them, it’s an accidental entry – as was the case with this GM, who laughs remembering his mother’s reaction when he had cracked his entrance into IHM Kolkata. Back in Meerut, where he is from, hospitality industry job meant being a waiter – a profession his mother was absolutely appalled about. However, few decades later now, she couldn’t be happier and proud of her son’s achievements.
“I had a wonderful time during the three years in the hospitality college and learned quite a lot. Since my job preference was Delhi – as it was closer to home in Meerut, I started my career at the InterContinental Park Royal New Delhi (now Eros Hotel Nehru Place) as a Front Office Supervisor and you can say there was no looking back after that. Those were the times when hotels were far and few in Delhi and the Park Royal was a busy hotel. A lot of events used to take place in that hotel – Bollywood events and I have some very fond memories of my time spent there of how to deal with the guests and how to be a good team player. I grew as a professional and spent 9 years of my career being associated with that property,” he shares on a nostalgic note.
Having enjoyed his stint at the InterContinental Park Royal New Delhi, he went on to work with the InterContinental The Grand (now The LaLiT New Delhi) in 2003) and six months later was transferred to Mumbai to manage Sahar Hotel. “Mumbai was a whole new ball game. Everything in Mumbai was understated. People would come in autos wearing dhotis and there was nothing you could do as they would all be affluential people. However, I came back to Delhi in 2005 and joined Crowne Plaza (now The Suryaa) and it was here that I learned all about maintaining standards at per the IHG criterion. I ran the hotel in the absence of an active GM for about three years and expanded my experience canvas before becoming the GM of the Golconda Hotel in Hyderabad,” he adds.
Finding it tough to work with a non-branded hotel, Ranjan came back to IHG, this time to work at the Crowne Plaza Salalah in Oman in 2008, which he was surprised to find was the greenest area in the desert. After managing this beautiful property wherein he used to handle a lot of charters, Mr. Banerjee moved on to handle the reins at the Crowne Plaza Soaltee, Kathmandu before joining Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon as a Resident Manager. Though he has been handling the GM profile in the absence of an active one or managing the properties independently, his first official role as a General Manager was with the Crowne Plaza Rohini in 2011 where he learned all about MICE and managing the tight social events’ calendar.
“I joined Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla in 2016 and have been enjoying my time here since then. The team has been great – we all work together to achieve our target. Today we are No. 1 as compared to our competition and enjoy a huge base of repeat customers, which speaks volumes about our service and delivery. I had never thought a hotel in Okhla would do so well but the fact that we have been beating our competition for last two years is indeed a pat on the back of my team,” he confesses in all honesty, not a shade of arrogance in his demeanour. So what is the secret behind this successful performance? “It’s all about people in our industry. I have facilitated my team and also empowered them – my aim is to keep them happy as I firmly believe that only a happy team can keep the guests happy. We undertake many steps for extensive team engagement with the sole aim of keeping them motivated and understanding their needs and issues. IHG has strong HR policies and thus our attrition rate too has been lower as compared to our peers,” he concludes.
An avid traveller himself, Ranjan believes in experiencing new and unexplored places in India and often travels to unique parts of India with his family. With a high drive for results, passion, and desire to be the best in whatever assignments he takes, Ranjan Banerjee has demonstrated capabilities in delivering strong results and growth through his strong business acumen, innovative sales strategies and revamped food and beverage concepts, which have together helped him in positioning Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla as a market leader in the area.
