Achieving service excellence is in his DNA. Meet the man who creates a true hospitality experience for every guest, every time. Mr. Vikram Antao, Vice President of Radisson Blu Resort Goa Cavelossim Beach is a man who leads from the front. He does not believe in sitting in the back office. You will always find him either interacting with guests or his staff. It is this personal touch which you can feel in the air. Everyone in the resort speaks one language of warmness. Vikram makes sure this culture is inculcated in each and every personal of the hotel. A true hotel professional, he is born and bought up in Goa and realizes the importance of tourism for the economic growth of the destination. An exclusive interview with this dynamic, outspoken and passionate hotelier:
How do you create a memorable experience for the Guest?
I believe in empowering my people. Our people interact with the guests for that personal touch. Our chef’s comes out from the kitchen to talk with the guests, during dining. Communicate with them, understand them better. Inside chef can make good dishes. But outside, they can create a great experience.
Has competition affecting you?
No, we have been growing year on year, both-in terms of occupancy and ARR. With strong marketing and creating outstanding experiences we have a lot of repeat and referral business. We make sure that every guest is happy while leaving the hotel. In terms of the market share we command one of the top positions in South Goa.
Are you growing in Wedding market?
We have a leading edge when it comes to hosting weddings. We believe in creating a lifetime wedding experience. Most of the banquet facilities in all other resorts are similar. Our USP is the food we serve. Whenever a wedding is being planned, we have a session of tailored make cuisines with the host. In fact lot of dishes are made and remade and tweaked till the time client flag it as perfect to be served on the wedding day. Also, we have a team dedicated for wedding service, even as some of the clients demand dinner to be served at 4 in the morning. The team is trained to take up all the unusual requirements of the guests.
How important is training?
Manpower training and development is an integral part of our management system. All personals including HOD’s have to take training which happens at regular intervals. Both in house and corporate training support from Carlson is imparted to build capabilities and develop people across the board. However our biggest challenge is losing trained people to cruise liners who do mass recruitment in Goa and poach manpower with hotel background.
