Salil Bhobe, General Manager of Hotel Nanutel Margao

Currently the General Manager of Hotel Nanutel in Margao, Mr. Salil Bhobe started his career in 1999.  He had been a Hotel Operation Trainee at that point, followed by moving to the FNB department. He is Goan by origin from Nerul Bardez, previously residing in Panaji, Goa. However, he is currently staying in Margao for the last 19 years.

Mr. Bhobe explains that without hard work there is no success. “Teamwork is very important. We should try and be perfect. It is pretty much team work that is the key secret to success.”

He further says, “Each organisation has its particular challenges. For us it would firstly be recruitment, which is, finding the right person for the right place. Second is when the person is already recruited he should have the eye for detailing. The customer is very important from the point of view of ‘eye for detailing” such as their likes and dislikes. Thirdly is the transparency that must exist in whatever transactions that occur in the hotel be it with regards to anything. You need to have transparency in the transactions. Hygiene standards also must be maintained.”

ATHITHI DEVO BHAVA is the phrase which the Ministry of Tourism uses. The meaning is ‘Guest is God.’ “So when you make the guest feel he is God he feels it to be his second home and our team also feels very excited to greet, meet and sit these guests.”

He says, “The USP of Nanutel is its prime location. Margao is the commercial capital of Goa. So the trade and commerce are well connected to air, rail and road. So the logistics make it easier for the customers to have their business and Nanutel being prominently located in the city makes it convenient for the guest to access the hotel.”

With regards to supports that he would like from his management, he says, “We deal in managing people. So, we need support from the higher authorities for human resource because tourism is a vast subject and we need to have continuous learning and be different from the competitors.

With regards to courses in IHM, he suggests that, “We have these educational videos being circulated through the association wherein they display this mock service in restaurants or making a room ready or handling guest check-in right from the airport till he is right at the hotel where you greet him. There are a lot of case studies where the students have to view these very informative videos. The authorities need to upgrade the system as every year there are new things that are coming up that will help the students in their career.”

He happily says, “I am of a very friendly nature and I connect with people quickly. So connecting with your guest is very important in this business. Your PR skills, your connection with your team and your guests are also vital. The goodwill that you have in the market is also important. So that drives me to do more in this sector. We need to be generous with the people working with us. I wish to get myself upgraded from the upcoming changes in the industry to better deal with them.

For students who are not of the IHM background and are looking for a career in this industry he would like to share that, “If a student has a degree or a diploma it definitely is an added advantage in his career. Having said that, even if a student has no such degree or diploma he can still be successful. Engineers and even Accountants have gone ahead to become GMs. What is important is that you have team work and you follow the procedures and the guidelines that have been laid down.”

“Be human, be positive and move forward with that positivity and the positive attitude.”

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