GM SPEAKS

NIKHIL BRID

HOSPITALITY HAPPENED TO ME BY CHANCE

R a j e s h G h a d g e I m a g e s b y R a j e s h G h a d g e & T h e C r o w n G o a

Born and brought up in Maharashtra, Nikhil Brid belongs to a family of service (army) background. At no point was entering the hospitality sector on his bucket list , it just happened to him by chance. He is now the General Manager of The Crown, Goa. Nikhil tells us that during the earlier days, parents always wanted their children to become either a doctor or an engineer and these were the only real choices but Nikhil never wanted to be either of them. He appeared for an entrance examination in Hotel Management at the request of his friends and the rest is history.

“Incidentally I was allotted a seat at Goa Catering College and that was the first time I came to Goa, ” said Nikhil, adding that he fell in love with this beautiful state and decide to stay here forever. “It was an entry into a completely new domain for me as none of my family members ever contributed to this industry and I was the first to become a hotel management graduate in my family. ” When Nikhil came down to Goa for the first time, it was the monsoon season and everyone knows how these are in Goa. “It was very hard for me to manage in a new location with the harsh monsoon but then time went by and I graduated from my 3-year course, ” said Nikhil. He tells us that cooking was a completely new aspect for him as he had never cooked before. “But soon after the first year, it was compulsory to do industrial training and I got an opportunity to do that at The Leela in Mumbai. For me, it was a big eye opener since Leela is a premium hotel property and I was exposed to something called ‘luxury living ’ for the first time: the standards set were very high and when I came back to Goa having finished my industrial training, I knew that this the industry I am going to work for the rest of my life. ” When Nikhil started his career in the hospitality industry in Goa, it was no more an unknown territory for him as he had already developed a great number of connections with the locals here while doing his graduation. “I came to college through a common entrance exam and our batch had students from all over the

country, but the 20% were Goans and that helped me in networking with the locals, ” said Nikhil adding that being a kid of defence personnel, he is very adaptable to any environment. “When I came to Goa, for me it was just another part of our country and I became very comfortable with every aspect which the state had to offer right from the food to the infrastructure that the place provided and the hospitality which Goa is famous for, and it was a very easy blend as far as the locals are concerned and it has been till date. ” According to Nikhil, his greatest strength is his capacity of breaking down the most complex ideas into very simple processes, making them easy to understand. “This helps me in communicating with my team more effectively, ” said Nikhil, further saying that these skills helped him in transforming the vision of his superiors into simple ideas and executing it with the help of a team. “The owners of the properties are entrepreneurs and they have a vision, and what they need is someone who will transform their vision into a successful mission and execute it which is where my strength comes into play: I am capable of breaking down that vision into bitesized chunks and then can delegate and distribute to the team. This way, the mission is completed and this is one of my biggest strengths. My weakness is my nature of going to the root cause of everything when something goes wrong and I get very obsessed with it, ” he added. Talking about motivating the team during the bad times, Nikhil gave an example of the pandemic, “When the problem arises, we make the team a part of the solution maintaining complete transparency. When we ’ re faced with a challenge, we help guide everyone in the right direction to keep them away from failure and depression. I have an executivelevel team who have been working with me for more than 6 years and all of us have gone through thick and thin together, and hence when we conduct the decision-making process, I am sure they are prepared to contribute towards it and when the pandemic struck, we did not let go of a single staff member: instead, we looked after them, helped each of them to remain afloat during the rough times. ” When I asked Nikhil about the USP of his property, he said it all in three words “Location! Location! and Location! “This property is situated in the heart of the city and uniquely positioned and from the point and perspective of guests, this place is most accessible to all the facilities and recreation that guests normally seek when they travel for their vacations in Goa. The second thing is our hospitable and well-trained staff, who completely meet the expectations of our guests and the third, and most important aspect of this property, is the room size. Our base categories of room that overlook the Mandovi river is 310 Sqft. I don ’t think any other property in Panaji offers that. We offer wellappointed, spacious rooms, hygienic service and good food. ” Nikhil believes that “Goa currently has the best to offer in the country and from the development of the Mopa airport, lots of new business projects are setting up across the state, and we are positioned to offer the perfect mix of leisure and corporate in Goa that no other state in India can offer at the moment. It’ s time to grab the right opportunity

and focus on the aspects that can take us to higher positions. ” When I asked Nikhil which other property besides the Crown he personally appreciates, he said “I am a big fan of the Oberoi Hotels and the second I would say is the Leela, where I had started my journey into the hospitality industry and both have taught me a lot. ” Nikhil also spoke about events and activities that take place in his property that comprises of live performances three times a week. “We have a Hindi singer, Kavish, who performs live on Fridays, and on Saturdays we have Selvin performing here and Sundays we serve brunch with Daryl and these three have been very consistent . They have their own fan following and together with our food made by chef Kanchan, their entertainment is the cherry on top, ” he said, adding that they also do a children ’ s party and new year celebration every year at the Crown Goa. Talking about social media and influencers benefiting the hospitality business, Nikhil said that social media has become a tool for creating awareness. “It not only helps businesses, but it also educates customers about hospitality, food, wine and beverages and that keeps us on toes so we have to stay updated with the latest trends in the industry. The shelf life of everything expires very fast and to keep pace with social media you need to keep reinventing yourself constantly and I have always believed in utilising the force of social media to its full potential. ” When I asked Nikhil where he sees himself five years from now, he said, “I have been with this industry for more than 30 years and I would like to be a part of it going forward. I would like to be a part of the Crown Goa itself and our owners have plans of growing this company. I would like to be a stimulus in that growth of the Vision Dempo Hospitality in the long run, ” said Nikhil speaking about the plans of Vision Group coming up with a couple of properties in the capital city and in the coastal areas. “There is a lot happening here and I would like to be a part of it, ” he concluded with these words.