Page 58 - e-magazine-masala-vol9-issue-1-august-september-2017

At the time, the F&B scene in Thailand was dominated by Italian
restaurants. I wanted to learn more and got the opportunity
to study at the Ithaca College in New York. I completed my
specialisation in F&B there and returned to Bangkok. There
was a small group of individuals called the Food and Beverage
Association of Thailand (FBAT). It consisted of 10 to 12 F&B
managers from hotels, and we didn’t learn much from visiting
each other’s restaurants every month or so. When I became
President of the FBAT, we wanted to explore the rest of the
industry, and so 12 years later, we have expanded to include
2,000 people from across the field.
Once I returned to Bangkok, I was also provided the opportunity
to head GP Group’s Hospitality Division as Vice President and
was made Director of Amari Atrium Bangkok. The opportunities
I have gotten from the Shah family have been massive and I
cannot thank them enough.
On his expansion plans and carving a niche in the industry…

The Buddhist circuit of India and Nepal, with towns like
Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti and
Lumbini, is a pain point for travellers, due to a lack of hotels and
infrastructure. I experienced the trails for myself, and saw the
opportunities, as well as the discomforts. We ultimately started
our expansion with Bodhgaya, and opened our first hotel there
in January 2017, under the Minor Group’s Oaks brand. It would
normally take people 10 days to complete the trail, but I believe
with this network of hotels, the circuit can be completed in four
to five days.
Bangkok is overbuilt and oversaturated, and supply
categorically exceeds demand. It is sad to see the best brands
not get the rates they deserve due to sheer competition. After
our contract with Amari Group expired, we chose to rebrand our
hotel to AVANI Atrium Bangkok. We are currently going through
extensive renovations. The hotel business in big cities is
extremely competitive, as you invariably end up constructing a
five-star hotel just to make the numbers.

On the hospitality business, disruptions and targeting the
right areas…
I always have to remind To run a successful business, you have to see what other

myself that opportunities people don’t see. In my time, there was no exposure to the
internet, and so we used to ask questions and look for the right
are where the pain is. If you answers from the right people. Today, people look for questions,
as the answers are all out there online.
identify the pain in people, I always have to remind myself that opportunities are where

the pain is. If you identify the pain in people, you can succeed.
you can succeed. Uber identified the pain in hailing a taxi – either you had to wait
in poor weather, in long lines or cabbies would refuse your fare.
Everyone knew there was an issue, but nobody did anything
about it until Uber came along to disrupt the status quo.

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