This shooter loves serving

A national level trap shooting champion, Harinder Singh, let her sporty side take a backseat as she opted for the "charms and challenges" of hospitality industry. Read on as the general manager of The Grand discusses the five-star deluxe hotel's renovated avatar, the hostile conditions hunting hotel business, and offers tidbits on tippingu00a0

Dressed in an elegant black pantsuit and her long hair pulled back into a neat pony tail, she supervised the arrangement of furniture in the sprawling hotel lobby. And while she was at it, Harinder Singh ensured she attended calls on her cell phone, replied to her staff's queries and hobnobbed with dignitaries. Being the general manager of The Grand, Vasant Kunj one of the premier hotels of the capital multitasking comes very effortlessly to this Lady Sri Ram alum. "I love the dynamism of the hospitality industry and being a people's person, I couldn't have thought of a better calling than this," began Singh as she settled down for a leisurely chat in an imposing meeting room. Excerpts.

You ventured into hospitality sector in the mid Eighties a time when the industry was opening up. What prompted your choice of career?
It was in the year 1986 that I had got through the IPS, but I didn't join the service. Hyatt had just opened and I was curious about hotels. It was then I decided to try my luck and landed a job with the group. In between, I went to the Cornell University for a brief summer course in hoteliering. For me, the hospitality industry has been very addictive. Be it meeting new people, setting new targets or sorting out problems I have loved every bit of it.

What do you consider more challenging finding a foothold when the market was expanding or at this juncture when the industry is struggling with multiple deterrents?
With the economic slump and the Mumbai terror attacks, we now have a new perspective to run hotels. The Taj incident has changed the life of a hotelier. Earlier the idea was to run an operation, make it successful and make patrons happy. Security was surely an aspect, but today it is the predominant one.

Post its renovation how well is The Grand geared up as far as safety is concerned?
We are a boutique hotel. Our expansive low-rise structure is our USP. There are many companies looking at hotels with a security perspective and they don't want to put guests in high rise buildings because the target becomes easy something's that's certainly not a factor to worry about at The Grand.

What are the services guests should look forward to?
For families, we have apartments in the hotel. It isn't a room or a suite but a proper unit with a personalised touch. Secondly, our spa Spa Oasis has specified treatments like detox wraps, pedicure manicure etc. cater to the (monsoon) season. Caraway, the Indian restaurant and Brix, the 24-hour coffee shop offer diverse flavours to patrons. Then, there's the executive space, a 24-hour setup that operates within itself. One can call it a hotel within a hotel. Right from meals to meetings everything is taken care of. Hence, the guests don't have to move to any other part of the hotel. It works perfect for busy business travellers. And finally, it's our location. With the airport, Emporio mall and Priya Complex in the vicinity u2014 guests have it all at one spot.

Talking of guests, who do you consider the best?
Japanese don't complain much. The Americans, too, are quite a happy-go-lucky bunch.

And what about tipping habits?
Indians themselves are very good at it, especially the NRI ones. They are very generous.