A man who has spent most of his life in hotels, Bharat Joshi is a passionate and seasoned hotelier with over 36 years of experience in this industry. He is the General Manager of Hotel Crowne Imperial, an iconic 4-star luxury hotel with the breathtaking panoramic view of the Kathmandu Valley. Bharat Joshi, a polite and amiable figure tells us about his inspirations, experiences and aspirations.
Could you tell us about your experiences, early mentors and how they moulded and shaped you into the leader you are today?
Impressed by the environment in Soaltee Crowne Plaza as a boy and later I got an opportunity to attend a scholarship programme by Oberoi Hotels, that’s when the prospect of hoteliering developed in me. The journey was very enjoyable, heart rendering and satisfying, every assignment and every responsibility took me to various heights and delights. There were a lot of highs and lows but I have been able to get through the tough and sad moments and look back at the memorable moments with a smile.
The person who I looked up to as a child and still now try to follow his philosophy, my first and foremost mentor is my father, Late Dr Tara Prasad Joshi, Former Dean of Nepali Department in Tribhuvan University. My dear father paved the way for me to reach this position and to take the lead in managing things. He always used to say, do things you like and when you do it, do with heart and soul.
Some of the people who inspired and mentored me through different phases of my career were Virendra Kumar, Sudhir Andrews, Gaspare Davi and Badri Tamang. All of them provided me with the knowledge and expertise of hoteliering. Working with them, I learned the skills required for professional hotel operation leading to profitability and guest satisfaction.
What was the best advice anyone ever gave you and how much of it have you followed through?
The best advice I received was from my mentor Virendra Kumar during my training at Oberoi Intercontinental. He used to say ‘work with passion and integrity and transparency without any fear’. This advice I have followed throughout my career.
Also, the example of hard work and dedication that my father had set is the reason why my motto is ‘Commitment and delivery’ and influenced by my mother’s way of treating people, ‘team-building and shaping people’ has become my style.
Your 3 biggest accomplishments to date?
One of my achievements were to take the position of Director of Sales and Marketing in Soaltee Crowne Plaza. Even now in this position, I dream of sales and business promotion.
My second would be take the position of Resident Manager and the then Acting General Manager in Hotel Yak & Yeti to have full knowledge of hotel operation and meeting revenue goals.
The most recent and by far most challenging accomplishment that I’m proud of was to take the position of Pre-Opening General Manager and then General Manager of Hotel Crowne Imperial. It was satisfying to overcome all the challenges during the setup of a new hotel from scratch and the grand opening and then to the next level of what we are today.
At what point might you feel you’ve met true success?
It is very interesting, life and career takes you to different horizons changing your perspectives, opening up new opportunities, driving results, shaping your personality and finally settling down.
In my opinion, true success is happiness, very intriguing but ultimately one feels successful when you feel happy in what you are doing.
What do you look for in people to create your dream team?
About this, I am always guided with the philosophy that different people are skilled in different areas. I look for responsiveness, team spirit and commitment from the entire team. I inspire the team to always be upbeat, positive and professional to guests and each other. I tell them it is the attitude that matters and that builds the team.
I am so glad to have had the opportunity to construct my current team from different backgrounds, organisations and finally build a bridge of understanding and standard to achieve our common goal.
What is your take on VNY 2020 and what do you think Nepal should focus on to leave an impression on tourists?
I take VNY 2020 as an adventure, which has opened up various opportunities to set goals for all private sectors. We are reaching out to different markets and attracting them to visit our country and enjoy the true Nepali hospitality.
I believe that the tourism industry should focus on the quality of service and offerings. People feel that there is competition with destinations but in my opinion, Nepal is the most loved country and globally people want to visit us and stay with us, this is the strongest sentiment which we should capture.
What are the future plans for Hotel Crowne Imperial and how are you going to keep up with the trends in the hospitality industry?
Our future plan is to make it a popular 4-star deluxe hotel in town, providing the best services at all times with hospitable staff.
In this industry, the trend has always been about giving the best service to the customers, so to take the services to the next level, facilitating the staffs with training and keeping them motivated to serve are some of the things I have brought to practise.
How is Hotel Crowne Imperial going to stay ahead of numerous competitors emerging in this industry?
A very pertinent question, world-class hotel brands are already exiting and another fleet of brand hotels are emerging along with standalone hotels, adding more room nights in the city, making it more and more challenging to run and get the market share.
We, at Hotel Crowne Imperial, are focusing on service and quality, enriched with hospitality DNA.
As we are just at our initial phase of business, we are looking to collaborate with other businesses and get our products and brand in the market and gain a reputation. This industry has a lot of potentials and if you work hard you can grab the opportunity. I have set up a formidable team and we are working towards our goals one step at a time.
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