Page 47 - MASALA Magazine Vol.15 Issue 6 | August - September 2024

Puneet Dhawan, the newly-appointed Head of Asia for Minor Oriental, Hong Kong; and then to Singapore, Vietnam, Australia,
Hotels, shares my excitement for this brand operating out of the City Dubai and India – Bangkok has always had a special place in his
of Angels. “Thai hospitality is rated as one of the best in the world,” heart. “My wife’s dad was probably one of the first 10 Indian families
he enthuses when I meet him at the Minor Hotels headquarters in to move to Bangkok in the late 1940s, and she was always talking
Bangkok. “And what attracted me to Minor Hotels was, first and about Thailand,” he recalls fondly. “Both our kids were born here
foremost, that they are headquartered out of a fantastic city like in Bangkok, and coming back here feels like a homecoming for
Bangkok, which is diverse, multicultural, and boasts a great quality both of us, after globetrotting for almost 30 years.”
of life. Moreover, Minor Hotels is one of the Top 50 valued stocks
listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), and the brand With decades of experience in the hospitality industry, spanning
as a whole has that entrepreneurial spirit and go-getter attitude as working for Century Hotels in Singapore, and then working for
part of its culture, which I find very exciting.” Accor for over 20 years, including taking on the role of Head of
India and South Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic, Puneet is
Born in New Delhi in India, Puneet has history with the city of bringing his unique insight and vast experience to Minor Hotels.
Bangkok, having married a Thai-Indian woman whom he met at “I had a great run in Accor; it’s a fantastic company,” he tells me.
the renowned hospitality school, César Ritz Colleges Switzerland, “Working with Minor Hotels will be different, but I’m here to learn
in 1991. Despite the years taking him to various geographies – the Minor way, and at the same time, bring some of the practices
from Amherst College in the University of Massachusetts for his that I’ve gathered in almost three decades in this industry.”
undergraduate in hospitality, travel and restaurant administration;
to the Philippines during his first job as a Corporate F&B Trainee
at the Mandarin Oriental Manila; to the legendary Mandarin

He shared his insights, experiences, and the vision he has for
Minor Hotels with Masala.

Having spent three decades and counting To effectively lead and manage
in the hospitality industry, what initially this portfolio, Minor Hotels
drew you to this field, and what has kept employs a multifaceted approach.
you loyal to the industry all these years? The first key component is

What initially attracted me to hospitality was our strong brand identity and
that you get to travel a lot [Laughs]. It’s a positioning. This includes a portfolio of Minor Hotels is operating in 56 countries,
unique industry because it’s universal – the well-defined personality brands with clear with plans to expand even further – for
vernacular and the way we operate hotels value propositions and brand essence, example, you’re launching the Anantara
is the same all over the world; it’s all about supported by consistent brand guidelines brand in Jaipur, and you’re planning
people, either the ones in your team, or your that ensure brand consistency across all to expand your India footprint to 50
external customers. It’s one of the oldest touchpoints. The strength of these brands properties. What strategies are you
trades in the world, and I was fascinated is further reinforced by robust training and implementing to achieve this ambitious
by the large hotels, banquets, restaurants, development, coupled with a consumer- growth?

bars, and of course the rooms themselves. centric approach. Destination creation has been instrumental
It’s a glamorous industry from the outside A shared vision across regional hubs of in Minor Hotels’ strategy and success
looking in, as a young child. excellence is another critical element
over its 46-year history. India has many
Of course, it was only later that I realised of our strategy. Our clear, overarching untapped hotspots and immense potential
that there is a lot of hard work and planning corporate vision and values serve as the to establish new destinations for domestic
behind all those smiles and the pretty foundation for all brands. Regional hubs of and international tourists. We plan to focus
people you see walking around the hotel excellence ensure strong leadership while our new openings in India on the upper-
in beautiful uniforms. Once you become maintaining consistency and allowing for upscale and luxury hotel segments with
a General Manager, it’s like leading an local adaptation. Minor Hotels’ ‘Agile’ our Anantara, Avani, and NH Collection
orchestra! To get music, everything has approach enables us to quickly adapt to brands, where we see a gap in the market,
to work in sync – and that’s what I think changing market conditions and evolving especially for experiential luxury, and the
differentiates a good hotel from a great hotel, guest expectations. greatest profit potential. We also see the
and listening to that music is something I Finally, data-driven decision making is capacity to bring our upscale NH Hotels &
love to do every day. central to our strategy. Performance metrics Resorts brand to some tier-two and tier-three
cities as well as airport locations. While
Minor Hotels’ brand portfolio includes are established for each brand to measure we recognise potential in up-and-coming
Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, NH performance against objectives, and we cities, particularly in Southern India, we are
Collection, NH Hotels & Resorts, and leverage data analytics to identify trends, also excited about the prospect of opening
Elewana Collection; and each one has a opportunities, and areas for improvement. luxury wilderness lodges in places like
unique brand identity. How do you ensure This approach ensures that each brand the southern hill towns and the northern
effective leadership and management maintains its unique identity while Himalayas, converting historic palaces
across Minor Hotels’ diverse portfolio of preserving the core vision of Minor Hotels. or forts, or launching Ayurvedic wellness
hotels and resorts, and that the core vision Currently, we are reviewing and fine-tuning retreats, all gaps our Anantara brand is well-
the brand standards for our brands, with a
across the properties remains the same? particular focus on Anantara. suited to fill.

WWW.MASALATHAI.COM | 47