The Ideal Convention Recipe

An ideal convention is one which facilitates acquiring valuable information about the developments happening in the industry, discusses issues of concern and finds amicable solutions for problems, provides quality networking and business opportunities etc. These were some of the suggestions hoteliers and restaurateurs across India had to offer. Mahesh Tharani and Savio Rodrigues serve up the complete convention recipe

Over the years associations within the Indian hospitality industry - be it at a state level, national level or international level - have endeavoured to showcase conventions of high standards with difference and elan. However, in most cases delegates attending these conventions or for that matter those who refrain from attending (owing to past experiences), consider it to be a waste of time. This is mainly because the conventions lack focus and instead of being a learning ground end up being a party venue.

The failures to such conventions (though the organising committees reportedly claim their respective conventions to be always successful), according to trade veterans are because organisers lack the core competency to organise high quality conventions. Besides, committees fall short of identifying the right topics for the moment as well as ways and means to address the important issues across all departments.

In our endeavour to assist the hospitality associations across India to understand what hoteliers look for and hope to gain out of a convention, Express Hotelier & Caterer spoke to hospitality professionals from various departments across India. Their expectations have been listed below under individual subheads:

Get Government Attendance

Even though the Indian hospitality industry is steadily climbing to considerable heights of success over the past few years, government intervention and focus toward the industry is most sought after if the sector is to gain any suitable recognition in the future and the recent Union Budget. Participation from the various government bodies clearly indicates how seriously the Centre takes the hospitality industry.

High taxation, numerous licences, no industry status and lack of funds form the core issues of the industry at the moment, and these issues need to be addressed to the various governments (be it at a Centre or state level) at a convention. It proves to be one forum wherein the delegates get an opportunity to voice their grievances to the government as one.

Secondly, through conventions of high quality the government through its representatives can learn more about the hospitality sector - its vitality and concerns. According to Ashwin Gandhi, managing director, Express Hotels, Vadodara, “Government officials most certainly need to attend the industry conventions because in the end it is the government that makes the laws and decides the future of the industry. Most importantly, the Department of Tourism (DoT) must have its officials attend such meets to understand problems faced by the industry. After all it will be these government officials who will represent the industry in the core government.”

Cater To All Departments

It is no surprise that a hotel consists of numerous departments, each working like parts of a well oiled machine. And every year, global and national trends within the industry and in every hotel department are evolving at a rapid pace. Thus the face of each department and its workings are certainly undergoing a major change from time-to-time.

Take for instance, five years ago, hotels were upgrading their networking systems to provide easy plug-point accessibility for their customers’ IT enabled requirements ie, a laptop usage. However, WiFi or wireless fidelity has now become the flavour of the season and in the future it will be VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). Such operational topics need to be discussed in detail so that the industry gets to know what they should invest in and how.

It is also observed that conventions sometimes tend to cater to just one department, for instance human resources, like in the FHRAI convention held in Chennai, the other departments are left out of the loop. This according to most hoteliers gives other department personnel, very little opportunity to learn or know the latest and upcoming developments in the national or international hospitality market.

“Delegates attend conventions for two primary objectives, one to learn something different and new in their related operations and second to network. But, if I am from the food and beverage department and the focus of the convention is on India’s tourism potential, then besides learning where tourism stands in the country and its future prospects, there is nothing much I gain which would be of use to optimise operations in the property I work in,” expressed Oliver Viegas, assistant manager, Rodas Hotel, Powai.

New trends like beer and wine bars, music bars keep on evolving in the food and beverage industry. Effective human resources management is another area which also needs to be discussed and new training methodologies identified at such forums. A similar approach needs to be adopted for the food production and service department, housekeeping operations, engineering and maintenance, and design related subjects. Thus, besides a specific theme, an ideal convention should be able to balance all of the above.

Make It Economical

Cost is one aspect which plays a major role as far as participation is concerned. This is because most hoteliers attending conventions do so on company’s expense and one must restrict the cost to the bare minimum, companies opt for sending two or three representatives. Thus, it is either the managing director or the general manager or a top level management employee who ends up attending these conventions. What happens to the mid-level management and the low-level management employee?

On speaking with hoteliers while conducting this study, majority indicated that sending two or three top management personnel is feasible as it ensures recovering the convention cost. However, if economical packages could be designed through smart tie-ups with the travel counterparts or hotels providing the stay, hotel companies wouldn’t mind sending more employees to attend the convention and not just the top executives.

Get Guest Speakers Of Substance

In order for delegates to be glued to their seats during the convention seminars, the secret lies in the prowess of the guest speaker to hold the audience’s attention with a topic of attention. First and foremost organising committees need to zero down on a topic of major importance and find a speaker who is an expert on the subject of choice.

In case of an international speaker, the committee needs to ensure that the issues touched upon relate to the prevailing situations in the Indian hospitality industry and that the content is adaptable to the Indian market. At the onset of the seminar the convention officials need to make a brief of the topic available to the delegates in order to let the delegates deliberate on the topic and ask relevant questions, during the question hour session.

“Speakers need to speak with relevance to the Indian industry. While it is good to learn about international trends, it is more important for the speaker to address the issue from a national perspective,” says Alok Rathi, managing director, Deoki Niwas Palace, Jaisalmer.

Do Not Forget Stand-Alone Restaurants

Over the years the focus at most hospitality conventions or seminars has been on hotels and hotels only. Industry feedback, however, reveals that in contrast to the growth of hotels in the country, stand-alone restaurants have outgrown the number of hotels and are emerging rapidly in different states. And trends in the food and beverage circle are changing at a fast pace with international brands foraying into the market.

While operations in both a hotel or a stand-alone restaurant may seem similar, the truth is that they are quite different. The hoteliers and restaurateurs we spoke to felt that conventions need to be split into ‘hotels’, ‘restaurants’ and caterers’ with topics and speakers related to the respective sector.

According to Lenny Menezes, area country manager, Hilton India, “Besides the convention location which has to be accessible, a convention should be made more industry specific, with proper segregation of the industry viz hotels, restaurants and food service organisations.”

Spice Up The Networking Parties

Networking parties prove to be important stress busters after an arduous day of seminar attending, thus are considered to be a vital component to all conventions. Parties need to showcase cultural programmes, cuisine and events that are of prominence to the city, state or country where the convention is being held. This apart, incorporating interactive programmes offer delegates an opportunity to mingle with other delegates rather than sticking to their own group.

“Lunches and dinners during conventions should showcase new cuisine or new banquet layouts,” says Sunil Mathur, chief operating officer, Choice Hospitality (India) Ltd. Voicing a similar opinion, Ranjan Gupta, general manager, Lotus Suites, Mumbai, said, “Social gatherings are important in putting a face to a name, other than getting in touch with various business leaders it improves relations.”

Why Abroad, When It’s Indian?

Though most hoteliers fancy the opportunity to experience international hospitality styles besides identifying various international markets for developing business potential, as far as an ideal convention venue is concerned, majority firmly expressed that an Indian hospitality convention should ideally be held in India.

Reasons, because it firmly caters to the Indian market.

“Conventions are basically held to discuss and get an update on the prevalent industry scenario and the focus is mainly to highlight issues pertaining to the indigenous market. What will an Indian hotelier participating in an Indian convention on a foreign land gain from attending it,” asserts Sunder Advani, chairman & managing director, Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Ltd.

However, if a convention goes abroad, organisers then need to ensure that the focus is predominantly toward promoting Indian tourism abroad, garnering foreign investments into the country and initiating joint venture agreements with Indian companies, eventually leading to development of the Indian industry.

“If the industry is trying to sell India, why is the convention being taken abroad? It would be more beneficial if foreign organisations were invited to India instead,” Lalit Suri, chairman & managing director, Bharat Hotels Ltd.

Spouses - Probably No

An interesting point brought forth through conversation with hoteliers is the fact that spouses in most cases should be left out of convention as the purpose of a convention is business not leisure. But, unless a convention attains high priority status of seriousness wherein the seminars, its topics and speakers garner strong attendance as well as importance, leaving little opportunity for leisure and touring, most hoteliers will prefer to take their spouses.

“Spouses have become a central part of conventions purely because the seriousness of the convention, over the years, has lost its value, as most conventions are now ending up being parties than anything else,” expressed a hotelier who makes it a point to take his wife to the convention. According to Umesh Akre, proprietor, Himland Hotel East, Shimla, “Spouses become an issue only if one or the either party is busy attending the seminars, but if a husband/wife are busy enjoying themselves because of poor convention and great holiday opportunity, I see no harm in them enjoying themselves, after all they have spent money for the convention.”

Get A Professional Company To Organise The Event

The hospitality industry, today, is stretching its arms in inviting outsourced professionals to handle various departments of the hotel like housekeeping, facility management etc. This is mainly because hoteliers believe in sticking to effectively handling their core competency and let professionals handle other non-core operations. On the similar lines a few hoteliers voiced a need to let an outsourced event management company look after the convention, with the role of the organising committee restricted to just setting the required parameters and necessary framework to be adhered too. After all, organising and executing a convention is an enormous task and most hoteliers, a part from their normal work load, will find it very difficult to execute it effectively.

Look Before You Leap

Some hoteliers felt that before setting up a convention the organising committee should conduct a brief survey on deciding the most appropriate theme and its related seminar topics, to identify the need of the hour.

According to Param Kannampilly, director, Concept Hospitality Ltd, “At the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) convention, a voting system is put in place, through which each delegate after a particular session is entitled to vote on the session. At the end, if the committee realises that solutions for certain issues haven’t been arrived at in the current convention, they set seminars for the next convention based on the unanswered important issues and find speakers of importance related to that topic.”

Conclusion

Conventions held by the Indian hospitality industry for the Indian hotelier is slowly losing its importance. This is mainly owing to lack of understanding about what the fraternity is looking at gaining out of such an event. If questioned on a convention, contrary to the popular belief that hoteliers only go to conventions to network and party, most hoteliers want conventions to be a learning ground and not just a party stop, with good relevant topics, government participation and assurances that areas of concern are addressed. And of course the parties shouldn’t stop.