MD Azharul Haque, GM – Fidalgo

Mr.Azharul Haque, coming from a sports background, always wanted to make a career in the field of sports. But, unfortunately during a game, he had a serious knee injury and the dream of sportsmen was ruled out. His father wanted him to complete his graduation. At that time B.B.A. and Hotel Management courses were in trend.Mr.Azharul was fascinated by the hotel industry and accordingly he acquired an Honours Graduate with degree in Hotel Management from Kolkata. He began his career in the hospitality industry as F & B Captain and from then, there was no looking back.

Today Mr. Md. Azharul Haque is the General Manager at Hotel Fidalgo, Goa, having a cumulative experience in Hospitality industry of over 18 years with numerous leading organisations and different types of Hotels. He is associated with Choice Hotels International, Green Park Hotels & Resorts, Taj Group of Hotel, Concept Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., Sarovar Hotels & Resorts etc. He is a self motivated, leading from front individual, who is skilled in various areas like management, budgeting, revenue management, food & beverage, operations management, formulation and negotiation of rates. He also has to his credit, active participation in pre-opening hotels and sales marketing. He is able to adapt well to the changing environment.

According to him the IHM has been incorporating the required changes in the curriculum from time to time and of late they have introduced many important departments unlike the conventional ones. He strongly feels that IHM or Premium Catering Institution should offer some investment in the sports area too, which will help those in the hospitality industry to get out of the work space and participate in Corporate Hotels Tournament.

While talking about the guests, he mentions that every guest comes to the hotel on leisure or official tour or dine out, to enjoy the good food and good service and a nice stay. Meeting the unanticipated expectations of the guests is something which will enhance the guest’s experience. Preparing oneself in advance to meet the customer needs will definitely impress and delight the guests and thus guest will feel WOW factor.

Mr.Azharul mentions that, at Hotel Fidalgo, there are separate kitchens to cater to the needs of the pure vegetarians and the non vegetarians which is the biggest USP of the hotel.. This exclusive provision of separate kitchens is key to the success and the high revenue of the F & B Department. Due to the central location and infrastructure, the Rooms section also contributes to the hotel revenue. But comparatively the proceeds from F & B are more as they have six different outlets under one roof which cater to different customer segments.

Every guest is special and valuable. So Mr. Azharul talks about an assortment of special services that should be availed by the guests. At Fidalgo every guest is given a welcome card in person and a thanksgiving letter which is sent online. Also, for the convenience of the guests, they provide the contact numbers of the staff at various levels in the hierarchy. In addition to this, they offer various discounts and facilities which are available at different outlets. Furthermore, the hotel has different attractive memberships like Gold, Elite, etc with vouchers included. This comprises birthday and anniversary cakes, discounts on dining, stays, gyms, spas, and many more to mention. In addition they offer privilege cards.

Mr. Azharul is inspired by famous senior hotelier like Mr. Veer Vijay Singh, Mr. Jaykant Shroff, Mr. Madhu Nair, Mr. George Verghese and considers him as his professional guru. He has gained a lot of knowledge and guidelines from them. Mr. Azahrul always desires that his guests are contented and delighted and along with his team strives hard for their satisfaction. He also believes that good care should be taken of the children. If we take care of kids and make them happy, it automatically pulls back the parents.

His message to the guests is – feedback. So, Mr. Azharul states that it is important to get customer feedback. Feedback is the key to improvement. He says that sometimes there are guests who are silent and it is very much essential to address such silent guests. Hence Feedback is a free education to excellence .Seek it with sincerity and receive it with grace.