4 minute read
Interview
Saurabh Khanna, General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Agra
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Saurabh Khanna has embarked on an exciting journey as the General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Agra with over 15 years of experience and expertise in a myriad of skills and hospitality brands. Apart from adhering to the traditional hospitality methods that have proven to work, his commitment to encompass innovative technology, diverse marketing alliances, constant innovation and multi-cultural revenue stream generations, have gone a long way in creating successful business entities. He arrives at the Courtyard by Marriott Agra with a vision to sustain the hotel’s existing strong positioning and take the stakes higher. In an exclusive interview with Sharmila Chand he talks about his working philosophy and more …
What is the USP of your property?
The USPs of this stunning property can be summed up best basis:
Location – conveniently located at Fatehabad Road providing an easy access from Delhi by road via the Yamuna expressway and in close proximity to the Taj Mahal
F&B Offerings – with an array of F&B offerings, starting first with ‘MoMo Café’, our All Day Dining restaurant offering global cuisines and local delights. Savour the flavours of the Awadhi cuisine at ‘Anise’ our signature Indian dining restaurant. Unwind at ‘Onxy’, our high energy bar which specializes in handcrafted cocktails. ‘MoMo2Go’ is our grab-and-go outlet offering refreshing and energetic ambience.
Multiple Celebration Venues – Multiple options of indoor and outdoor spaces totaling over 15,000 sqft
Green initiatives the hotel has taken?
We are always exploring and curating various green initiatives to help conserve the environment. Whether it is about implementing glass bottles for water consumption across all our dining outlets, to using paper straws in the property, and final now moving towards establishing an Electric Vehicle charging station within the premises of the hotel.
Sustainable processes in your property?
We have activated innovative practices like installing compost machines for biodegradable materials and moving on towards growing organic micro greens in our garden space and making it a part of our offerings.
Your marketing strategy to promote the property?
Marketing for a destination like Agra and a leading property like the Courtyard by Marriott Agra is steadily shifting towards positioning itself as an experiential offering than a mundane space. Digital amplification, organic content creation and strategic promotional collaborations play a key role to substantiate the efforts of the property through its unique offerings, state of the art services.
What distinguishes your property from others in the same bracket?
Our service culture – we are consistently rated positively for our genuine and warm services across all genres of stay and dining experiences by our guests
Our suite room count – we have 18 spacious state of the art suites out of a total room inventory of 189 keys. Our suites offer space and comfort for the additional guests to have a comfortable stay
Our terrace rooms – one of a kind room category in the city that has an attached scenic terrace overlooking our luscious lawn space and spacious enough to host a small gathering of 10 people at ease.
Future plans and new initiatives you wish to undertake in your property?
The 3 foundation pillars of our way forward here at the property has to be building a considerable number of experiential offerings across all genres for guests from different segments, exploring and implementing meaningful sustainability practices with long term impact and promoting intensive, structure and valuable cross training for our hospitality professionals.
What is the most crucial issue to tackle in the Hospitality industry today?
The most crucial issue in the industry is people and talent for taking the baton forward. The pandemic situation hassled to a mass exodus of skilled talent from the industry, some was induced while rest voluntary. Hence we need to work tirelessly on re-skilling and upskilling our current workforce. Despite all the automation and adoption of digital means, this is still a high people driven intensive industry.
What do you enjoy most about being at the helm of affairs at the hotel?
I thoroughly enjoy the liberty to make decisions that can impact (positively) a guest experience or the associate experience aligned with our vision to be the most favoured hotel in the city of Agra. They don’t have to be life altering decisions, but just subtle changes that a discerning guest would appreciate and come back again to experience more with a wider audience.
What is your working Mantra, your guiding philosophy in work?
I am a strong believer in the saying that devil is in the details, success is never final and actions should speak louder than words in any role you want to excel in.
